homecoming
by bridge186
Summary: a/u in a way. Has some romance and some family. Starts out with a case but it leads into someone going after Ziva and it's a race to find out who is after her and how to stop them before it's too late. Please review :
1. Chapter 1

_** Homecoming**_

** NCIS HEADQUARTERS**

Gibbs walked into the bullpen to find Tony sitting at his desk already working. There are a few other people scattered around the HQ. He and Tony are the only two of the team that are already there.

"You're in early, aren't you Tony?" Gibbs said.

"Just trying to catch up on some things." Tony replied.

Gibbs sat down behind his desk. He opened up his drawer and pulled out several files. He begins working on the paperwork. Tony seems frustrated at his desk. He's working on paperwork, but keeps repeatedly stops and starts. He looks up at Gibbs who is writing on the papers on his desk. Tony goes back to working before looking back up at Gibbs.

"Something wrong, Tony?" Gibbs asks.

"No, boss… Well." Tony hesitates and Gibbs goes back to work assuming Tony is just rambling.

Tony starts: "It's just that when a woman says no, but in a—"

"Wait. Wait. I don't want to know." Gibbs interjects.

The elevator dings and out steps Ziva David. Both men look up, and are flabbergasted at how beautiful she looks in a sleek black dress that fits her just right around every curve. A moment later McGee steps out of the elevator in his usual suit and tie.

"Oh, no way." Tony says more to himself than to anyone else.

Tony gets up and walks around to the front of his desk. He sits on the edge.

"So what have you two been up to. Or should I say what were you two up to." Tony says as all sorts of mental images flash through his mind.

McGee looks up at him as if he doesn't get what he is implying. Then he looks at Ziva who is moving to get behind her desk. She places her purse inside a drawer and is looking for something else.

"Oh, ah, no I just met up with her on the elevator. Although I will say Ziva, you, you look pretty nice in that that that—" McGee struggles to form the words because he just noticed how well the dress actually fits her.

"Its called a dress McGee." Gibbs said bluntly as to put an end to the conversation.

"Right boss.' McGee says feeling like an idiot.

"So, Ziiiva. What's with the dress? Hot date turn into all nighter or what?" Tony says.

"That's none of your business, Tony." She replies.

"Oh, no you're not getting away with it that easily. C'mon tell me what happened. C'mon. It looks like it was fun." He walks over to her desk and gets behind her ear and whispers, "You know you want to tell me so just let it out."

"Tony, I don't want to tell you anything now if you would remove your hand from chair or I will be forced to remove it for you." She replied. He removes his hand and walks back around to the front of her desk.

Gibbs' phone is ringing. He picks up and has a quick conversation while Tony and Ziva bicker.

"Fine, you don't want to tell me. Fine. But I'll find out. I'm a trained investigator Ziva. It's what I do.' Tony said.

Gibbs gets up from his desk and walks up to Tony and slaps him on the back of the head.

"Tony, gas the truck, McGee get the gear. Ziva (he looks at her for a moment admiring her in the dress) you should change into something more— just change." Gibbs said.

Ziva gave him a weird look. "Gibbs, you know I was planning on doing that before we left—(She notices Tony's head jerk up so she doesn't finish her sentence.)"

"Just change Ziva" Gibbs said.

McGee begins to walk past them.

"Probie. Gas the truck." Tony tosses him the keys. McGee drops the bag he has in his hand and catches the keys.

"But Gibbs said for you to—" Tony cuts him off.

"McGee who is the Senior agent here. Me. And I'm delegating."

"This is ridiculous." McGee says. As he picks the bag back up and heads out to start the truck and load the gear. Ziva is pulling clothes out of her bottom desk drawer. Tony walks back over to her and says,

"So, what'd you mean by 'before we left'? Huh, you and Gibbs have a little midnight rendezvous."

"Tony, don't be ridiculous. Why would you think that?"

"Gee, I don't know Ziva. You tell me." He said.

"There is nothing to tell you." Ziva says.

She then walks around her desk with her backpack and clothes in hand and heads for the restroom leaving Tony standing in between their desks alone.

"Then what's with the dress." He says to himself more as a statement than a question.

** QUANTICO MARINE BASE-- DAY**

A young female marine Lieutenant is standing inside of a sectioned off area of the on-base apartments. She is standing on the walkway that leads up to the door. She is waiting for Ducky to get there to clear the body so she can begin investigating. She is around twenty one years old and is tall and slender but with a fair share of muscles, her sandy colored hair is in a low bun and she has bright blue eyes. Ducky slowly comes to the top of the stairs about five feet from her. She notices him and gives him a welcoming smile.

"You must be Dr. Mallard." She says.

"Quite, right you are Lt." Ducky replies.

"Weisz, sir, but you can call me Calleigh." She says.

"Calleigh it is then. You can call me Ducky. "

"Yes, sir."

"So when was the body discovered?" Ducky asks.

"Zero nine thirty."

"My goodness, that's less than an hour ago." He says.

"Yes, sir. NCIS was the first call made after the body was discovered."

At that moment Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, and McGee come up the stairs.

"Special Agent Gibbs. Has anyone touched the body?" Gibbs introduces himself and asks.

"Lt. Weisz. And yes sir, Private Wallace was the person who found him when he didn't report for duty this morning, and she said she checked for a pulse, but when she didn't find one she immediately left and contacted me, and I contacted you."

"And just where is she now?"

"She is sitting on the steps right there." She points toward the other end of the walkway.

"I've already gotten her statement, and collected her clothing and shoes incase she accidentally picked up any transfer while checking the body. But I figured you'd want to talk to her so." Gibbs turned to Ziva.

"Go take her statement." He said.

Ziva walks past them, but glances back at them and notices that they both have a calm collectedness about them that is very similar.

"Alright people, you can come in here now." Ducky says from inside the room.

Both Lt. Weisz and Gibbs start to enter the room at the exact same time. Of course neither succeeds. Tony and McGee look at each other. They are both thinking about who is going to win the pissing contest that is about to take place.

"This is still my crime scene sir." Calleigh says.

"You called me, remember. This is a dead marine and that makes it my jurisdiction."

"Actually he's on my base and therefore that makes it my jurisdiction." She retorts.

"Look, I'm not going to stand here and argue with you." Gibbs picks up his phone and dials.

"Who exactly are you calling?" She asks. He doesn't answer her. Tony and McGee look on. Ziva walks back up to them.

"Who are you calling?" She asks again.

"The commandant. We'll see who has jurisdiction." He says. Tony, Ziva, and McGee just look on as the stand off takes place. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a phone and dials a number. She puts the phone to her ear and waits. He looks at her quizzically. She's calling his bluff. He hangs up his phone. She keeps hers at her ear.

He looks at her and raises one eye brow questioning her. _She wouldn't be calling who I think she's calling. _ She holds up a finger for him to hold on. He starts to go on into the room, but she puts her arm in front of him blocking the door.

"Director Vance, please…. That's fine, I'll hold." She says. _I don't believe this. _Gibbs reaches up and takes the phone from her and closes it.

"Excuse me. " She says. He gives her the Gibbs stare, but she just gives it right back at him. _Why does this seem so familiar. Gibbs thinks. _ The others watch on in awe of how this young woman is going toe to toe with their boss.

"How about a compromise. Hmm?" Calleigh suggests.

"I'm listening." Gibbs replies.

"Look, the most important thing is that we find out what happened to this kid. And if we keep arguing nothing's going to get done so how about a joint investigation?" She says.

"Fine." He states plainly.

'No, no no. Not fine. You are not going to control the entire investigation and leave me doing paperwork." She states matter-of-factly.

"Well what do you want Lt. Weisz?" He asks, losing his patience.

"I will agree to let you be in charge since you are—" he cuts her off.

"Better equipped to handle the investigation."

"Uh, no I was going to say a lot older, but I am second in command. Not your other agents. Got it." She says directly.

"That works." Gibbs says nonchalantly. She then moves her arm and he enters the apartment. The apartment looks as though a massacre has occurred. There is blood on all of the walls and all over the victim's belongings. The room is trashed, there are candy wrappers everywhere and there are videos and cds scattered around the room on the floor. His clothes are scattered around the room. He is lying on the floor face up. He is in his B.D.U.'s but they are covered with blood. The chest area is died almost crimson and his face is bloody. There is also a pool of blood under his body.

"Got the time of death, Duck? Gibbs asks.

"Well it seems he expired around 8:15 this morning." Ducky says.

Ziva and Tony are both taking photographs while McGee begins dusting for prints. Lt. Calleigh Weisz is kneeling beside of Gibbs listening to Ducky give his report.

" That's strange." Calleigh says.

"What's that m'dear?" Ducky asks.

"Well if the T.O.D. is 8:15 then someone had to have heard it. I mean, we get complaints about T.V.'s being too loud. There's no way someone did all of this and no one heard it."

"DiNozzo." Gibbs calls out.

"On it boss." Tony replies as he hurries out of the room to check for anyone who may have heard any strange noises. He re-enters the room.

"Uh, boss. How do I know who may have heard—"

He stops when Calleigh hands him a paper from the clip board she's holding. "Here's a list of all personnel that live in the building and their schedules you can cross reference it." She says.

"Thanks." He says as he gives her a huge smile and admires her when she turns back around toward the body. She is attractive even in B.D.U.'s. Ziva rolls her eyes when she sees his ogling the Lt. Tony then turns to leave.

"Gotta 'cause of death?" Gibbs asks.

"Well, there's several cuts on his chest and a nasty gash in the back of his head, but I think it's fair to say the poor boy bled to death." Ducky says.

"Anything else, Duck?" Gibbs asks.

"Not at the moment Jethro. There's just too much blood to be able to tell anymore from here. The answers will come though, once I get him back to autopsy. I will say though that I do believe this is the most heinous crimes I've ever seen. I mean who could do such a thing?" Ducky asks.

"Well it is a military base." McGee states. Calleigh and Gibbs both look up at him in the same manner and leer at him in the same way which gives him the chills.

"I'm just saying boss that technically everyone on this base is trained to fight and kill if necessary." McGee says in his defense.

"I'm sorry what's your name?" Calleigh asks.

"Special Agent McGee, Miss."

"It's Leutenant, Special Agent McGee. And I'll bet you're highly trained am I correct?" He nods. "Now, that doesn't mean you or your colleagues randomly slice and dice each other does it?"

"Point taken, I apologize." McGee says sincerely.

Gibbs just grins at them. McGee goes back to work. Calleigh begins looking for evidence. Jimmy Palmer shows up and Ducky tells him to go ahead and remove the body. He does so. Gibbs is also looking for anything that might catch his eye. Ziva is taking samples of the blood from the walls while McGee continues taking prints. Calleigh looks over at Gibbs while he's working. He looks so familiar to her, but she doesn't know why. She also doesn't know why she is immediately comfortable around him or why she felt at ease arguing with him and pulling a bluff on him.

She tried to quit thinking about it and focused her attention on the bed. She stripped away the sheets and covers carefully analyzing, collecting, and bagging and tagging as she went. She then went to lift up the mattress and as she did she heard a cling as metal hit metal. McGee and Gibbs moved over to where she was and they carefully moved the bed. Lying on the floor behind the bed was a black knife.

"Looks like a hunting knife boss." McGee states.

"No, it isn't. It's a standard issue." Gibbs says.

Calleigh looks at him. "You were a marine?" He doesn't answer her. He just smiles at her. Ziva walks into the bathroom.

"Gibbs, I think I found something." Ziva says as she calls out from the bathroom.

Gibbs enters the bathroom. "It seems someone tried to wash up after the bloodspat." She said. There are smears all over the sink where someone touched the sink while washing off the blood.

"Bloodbath, Ziva" Gibbs says.

"Well, you know what I mean." Ziva replies.

Calleigh enters the bathroom area to see what all of the fuss is about.

"Wow, this is just like out of the movies." Ziva and Gibbs both look at her.

"Well, except it's not and… never mind." She stumbles over her words and turns red.

Gibbs stands and walks toward the bathroom door. He stops in front of her and says, "It's okay. It is sort of like the movies." He smiles and then leaves the room. Calleigh's flush goes away. Ziva is left looking dumbfounded. _Did he just say that to make her feel better? What was that all about? She thought._ Calleigh looks back at Ziva.

'So do you want some help processing?" She asks.

"No, that's alright. I think I can manage." Ziva answers.

"I know, I was just offering to help. I know you can manage." She offered, afraid she had offended Ziva.

"I know." Ziva says.

Calleigh lets it go and exits the bathroom. She re-enters the main room of the apartment where Gibbs and McGee are. Gibbs is giving instructions to McGee.

"So, once she finishes up in there we're done here. You, Tony, and Ziva take the truck back to NCIS and get everything to Abbey."

"Not a problem." McGee replies. At that time DiNozzo comes in.

"Boss, I gotta few people who said they heard some loud music and something that sounded like the bed was shakin' but no one heard any screams or yells or bangs. Nothin'. They said they just thought he was and I quote "just gettin' some." But most of the people were on shift.' Tony reports.

"Why wouldn't he scream." Gibbs states, thinking aloud.

"Maybe he couldn't" Tony answers..

"Wasn't really a question, DiNozzo." Gibbs retorts and then walks outside onto the walkway. Calleigh watches him and McGee walk out the door, past Tony.

"Hi, I don't think we were properly introduced. Tony DiNozzo." He says introducing himself and sticking out his hand. Calleigh pulls off her gloves and shakes his hand.

"Calleigh Wiesz."

"So, have you been stationed here long?" Tony asks.

"Yeah, a while." She answers with a smile. He smiles back at her. Ziva then walks out of the bathroom and back into the main room of the apartment where Tony and Calleigh are.

"Where's Gibbs?" Ziva asks.

"Outside." Tony quickly replies, almost ignoring her completely. Ziva walks outside to find Gibbs on the phone. Tony continues to flirt with Calleigh inside the room until she moves outside onto the walkway.

"Listen Duck, I need to know why no one heard this guy. There's just no way he was quiet through all that. . . As soon as you find out. Okay." He hangs up the phone and turns only to find Ziva so close that he almost topples over her. He does bump into her a little.

"You okay?" She asks.

"Fine. It's just something doesn't fit. Why wouldn't he scream?" He says.

"I don't know. (She turns and looks at Calleigh.) She seems to know what she's doing pretty well." Ziva states.

"Yeah, seems so."

"Have you two met before." She asks, fishing for details.

"You're fishing."

"Alright, maybe, but I want to know." Ziva says. At that moment Tony and Calleigh walk up to them. Tony has a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Know what, Ziva." Tony asks.

"When we can get the evidence back to Abbey so we can begin getting some answers." She replies on the fly.

"McGee's already in the truck waiting on you two." Gibbs states matter-of-factly. Tony and Ziva file off and down the steps to meet up with McGee and head back to NCIS. Calleigh looks at Gibbs who then turns and walks down the steps.

"You comin' or what?" He yells up to her. She follows him down the steps and runs to catch up with him.

"So what do you think about this Lt." Gibbs asks.

"I think I've gotta murderer on my base." She states coldly as if she takes the blame for it herself. She picks up her pace and beats him to the car. He watches her trying to figure out who she reminds him of. It's as if he knows her but he doesn't know her. She also reminds him a bit of himself when he was back in the core, with her exuberance and excitement. They get into the car.

"So where we headed sir?" She asks.

"Back to NCIS to get some answers, and don't call me sir, Lt." he replies.

"Yes, si—(she catches herself). So what do you want me to call you?" She asks earnestly.

"Boss, Gibbs, whatever. Just not sir." He states.

"Okay whatever. You can just call me Calleigh then." She replies and grins to herself because he looked at her weird and almost unenthused. Almost, but he couldn't help but grin at her when he saw her grin. _Where the hell do I know her from? He thought._ He starts the car and they head out and back to the NCIS HQ.

"So, what made you leave the core?" She asks.

"Do you always talk this much?" He asks her.

"Yes, well most of the time anyway." She replies as if she's been asked that before. "So c'mon. Why'd you leave? You seem to still have the character of a marine."

"You just met me."

"Yeah, but it's obvious."

"I left for family reasons." He states in a way that makes it clear it's personal. She notices his intent so she doesn't say anything. He still doesn't know why he feels like he knows her so he decides to search for answers. "So, why'd you join the core?" He asks.

"I don't know I just felt like it was in my blood, like I was supposed to do it, and before I knew it I was in." She says nonchalantly.

"Parents are in the core, huh?"

"No, no actually my dad's a pediatrician in the Navy…"

** MEANWHILE IN THE NCIS TRUCK**

Tony is driving and Ziva is in the middle which leaves McGee next to the passenger door.

"I could have drove Tony." McGee says.

"You drive slow." He states calmly as if he's in a daze.

"In a hurry to get there before Gibbs, Tony? Maybe so you can freshen up before Calleigh gets there, hmm?" She pesters.

"I don't know what you're talking about, and don't think I've forgotten how you came in this morning." She shuts up when he says this. She had hoped he had dropped it, but no.

"She is very pretty and smart too." McGee says.

"She's off limits Probie. I got dibbs." Tony says.

"Oh come on, what are we ten, you don't have dibbs on her." McGee scoffs.

**MEANWHILE BACK IN GIBBS' CAR**

"So what's your mom do?" Gibbs asks, still prying.

"I don't know. Never met her. Never really thought much about even having one." She replies knowing he's just prying.

"Your dad never mentioned her to you?"

"Not really. He just blew me off whenever I ask about her so one day I just stopped asking and moved on… why all the questions about my past?" She asks finally saying what she's been thinking the whole way.

"I don't know. The radio's broke. Just makin' conversation." He lies. She knows he's lying, but decides not to call him on it. She shrugs her shoulders and they sit in the quiet for a moment. Then she decides to turn the tables a bit.

"So what was your M.O.S.?" she asks.

"Sniper."

"Did you ever go to war. Like Korea or anything?" She asks.

"Just how old do you think I am? Geez. Desert Storm."

"Iraq. Hmm. Been there twice. Just got back." She then seems to get lost in her own thoughts. He looks over at her wondering what it is that has her so deeply entranced in her own mind. He's knows most service members today have been to Iraq, but it just seems strange to him that someone so young could have already been there twice and now that he thinks about it be a First Lieutenant and not a second. He sets it in his mind to look up her dossier the first opportunity he gets.

The ride is silent the rest of the way to NCIS HQ.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS**

Gibbs and Calleigh step off the elevator and walk into the bullpen. Tony, Ziva, and McGee are all working at their respective desks. Gibbs enters their work area followed by Calleigh.

"DiNozzo sit-rep."

Tony stands, grabs the remote controller to the plasma, and begins.

"Our Romeo was a Private First Class Michel Thompson, 19 out of Austin, TX. His neighbors said he had some friends over last night, but they didn't know who. I got the feeling they didn't like him too much boss, they seemed a little ticked off about not being invited to the party—" Ziva stands and walks over and takes the remote from him.

"From what we have been told he has two girlfriends and they live here." She indicates the picture on the screen. The houses are only a few houses apart and they are in a small neighborhood.

"Definitely close enough for them to meet or catch him cheating." Calleigh thinks aloud.

"Exactly, and Abbey is working on the evidence we collected." Ziva replies.

Gibbs turns to walk down to see Abbey, but McGee stops him.

"Hold up Boss, I checked his phone records and it just doesn't check out. The only numbers he called in the last fourteen days were on base. And this one number he called everyday at 5:30 a.m. like clockwork" Gibbs motions for Calleigh to come over to them.

"Do you recognize any of these numbers?" Gibbs asks her.

"Yeah, they're just the local stuff. I mean that one is the front office, that one the post..."

"What about the one he called multiple times?" he presses her for the answer.

"That's the ah… ah, man, I know that number… the mess. That's the mess." She answers feeling a bit of relief.

"What're you thinking drugs or something more serious?" Ziva asks.

"It's something serious alright. Serious enough for murder." Gibbs says then walks to the elevator.

"Where's he going?" Calleigh asks.

"To see Abbey. She's our forensic scientist." McGee says.

"You'd like her she's unique." Tony adds.

"Interesting." Calleigh replies a little confused. She looks down at McGee's desk and notices his phone.

"No way. You got the new IMan 4? I didn't even know these were out yet."

"Yeah it's got touch screen, gps, mp3, internet, projector, everything. It's like having your computer with you everywhere." He replies a little overzealously.

"Oh, I'm sure you love that don't you probie." Tony says mockingly.

"I think it's really cool McGee." Calleigh tells him sweetly.

"Please call me Tim." He smiles. She smiles back at him as she plays with his phone. She takes a picture of herself and then one of McGee. Tony looks on with a bit of jealousy until he looks over at Ziva who is steady at work on her computer. He walks over to her.

"So ready to tell me what you did last night."

"Nothing Tony, I told you."

"No, see normally I'd believe you, like when you come in with other people's blood on you and stuff like that, but when you walk in with slinky, sexy, sultry, (she slaps him on his arm) dress on. Then you didn't just do nothing. You did somethin' or should I say somebody." Tony jests.

"I had a drink with a friend, that's all." Ziva says.

"That's weird if that's all 'cause I asked you out for a drink last night and you turned me down." He said acting as if he's hurt by her statement, and maybe to some degree he is.

Gibbs re-enters the bull pen.

"What are you people doing just sitting around. Tony go interview the girlfriends, find out where they were and who they were with. McGee you and Calleigh go down and help Abbey." He says as he walks past them to his desk. He takes off his gun and ejects the clip. He places both inside the top lock drawer of his desk. Ziva gets up from her desk and walks over to his.

"And me, what about me Gibbs." She says feeling a bit dejected at not being given a task in the first place. Gibbs doesn't say anything to her at first then he stands and walks toward the elevator and motions for her to follow him. She does. Once inside the elevator he presses a button and when it begins to move he hits the emergency stop switch. He still hasn't said anything.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on or do you want me to guess?" She asked.

"I want you to do something for me without anyone knowing it. Not even Tony."

"Gibbs there are quite a few things I do without anyone knowing, especially Tony." She replied as she grinned at him. He couldn't help but grin back, but then he became serious again.

"I'm serious Ziva." He says bluntly.

"Of course, what is it?"

"I want you to find out everything you can about Lt. Weisz. Everything. If you can find out what hospital she was born in all the better."

"What's this about Gibbs?" She asks a little unsure if she wants to know the answer. "Do you think she is somehow involved in the case?"

"No. Not in the case. I just… Please Ziva?" He pleads which is uncharacteristic for him so now she is really intrigued.

"Of course, but will you tell me once I have the information?"

Gibbs looks at her for a moment as if he were staring straight into her soul and then he nods, and with that one simple move he turns and flips the switch on the elevator so it begins moving again.

**MEANWHILE IN THE LAB**

McGee and Calleigh walk into Abbey's lab. Abbey has her back to them as she works on putting a print in the computer for comparison. The music is turned up really loud and nothing else can be heard. Calleigh takes in Abbey's appearance and the music. _Unique is definitely one way to put it Tony. She thinks._

"Abbey!" McGee gets her attention.

"McGee, don't sneak up on me like that!" she slaps him across the shoulder. He walks over and turns off the loud music. Calleigh is observing the art around the lab.

"Abs, this is Calleigh. Calleigh, Abs." McGee introduces them.

"So you're the one who has Tony drooling." Abbey says.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Calleigh replies bashfully.

"Gibbs sent us down here to help you process the evidence from the crime scene." McGee says.

"Okay, McGee you take the desktop, and you, how are you with computers?" Abbey asks Calleigh.

"Better than most, worse than some." She answers honestly.

"Well we'll start from there. So, you my friend get the laptop. Enjoy." Abbey smiles as she hands her the laptop.

"Will do." She smiles back. Calleigh begins working with the computer on the counter next McGee.

"And I will process the blood samples." She does a meditative calming pose and then sets to work on the samples.

** NCIS BULL PEN— A COUPLE HOURS LATER **

Tony steps off the elevator looking far more exhausted and disheveled than he had before he left. He walks up to his desk and then collapses into his chair. He leans forward and lays his head down on his desk. "Uh, why do women have to be so—"

"Superior to men." Ziva interrupts him.

"Actually I was going to say Bitchy" Tony retorts.

"Have a hard time with the girlfriends?" Ziva asks sarcastically.

"Oh, you have no idea. Those two were pills. Hot, but definitely pills."

"Suspects?" Ziva asks.

"No, I don't think so. One started throwing up when I told her he was dead. Then when I started asking her questions she started throwing things at me and screaming for me to leave because she thought I was implying she had something to do with it. The other one just cried the whole time. She cried and cried and cried." Tony says as he bangs his head on his desk with every cried.

"You know Tony you could show a little sympathy for these girls they did just loose their boyfriend." Ziva says.

"I'm showin' it on the inside Ziva." Tony said with his head still down. Meanwhile, Ziva finished up typing on her computer. She hit the print button and then went to the printer and gathered up several pages as they printed off. She then stuck the pages into a folder and then walked over to Gibbs who was signing some documents. She hands the folder to him and he inhales deeply before taking it from her. She holds onto it for a moment and forces him to look her in the eyes. He mouths later to her and she relinquishes her hold on the folder.

** ABBEY'S LAB SEVERAL HOURS LATER**

McGee is sitting on his stool half asleep as he half heartedly taps on the keyboard. Abbey is barely sipping a Calf Pow while putting the last of the prints into the computer. Calleigh is very sleepy, but is forcing herself to remain awake and read the files she has open on the laptop. Gibbs enters and taps McGee on the back of the head.

"Go home McGee. It's late." McGee gets up and leaves without even considering protesting.

"Abs, can you give me a minute? " He hands her a Calf Pow and she says, "Yeah, sure Gibbs." Abbey leaves the lab. Calleigh is now nervously looking around, and then looks straight at him.

"Something wrong?"

"I need your D.N.A.." Gibbs says as he hands her a cotton swab.

"Okay, I guess. Is there a reason why?" She asks as she swabs the inside of her cheek.

"Yeah, and I'll tell you later." He replies overlooking her questioning gaze. "Now, go on get outta here; it's late like I said." She is really just too tired to protest, but before she gets to the door she turns to him.

"Gibbs, I know we just met and all, but I hope you don't think I had somethin' to do with that guys death."

"I don't." He replies, and she walks on out the door. He turns back toward the computers and then pulls out another container with a cotton swab in it. He takes the swab and swabs the inside of his cheek. He then closes the container and calls Abbey back into the room. Abbey comes in yawning.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"How long would it take for you to run a DNA test if you have both samples?"

"Well depends on what I'm looking for. If you want a family relationship then not long. If you have two samples you want me to run through a database then a while."

"I'm looking for the relationship, Abs." He says, as he hands her both swabs.

"Gibbs these aren't marked or dated or anything. They're compromised. The chain of-"

Gibbs stops her by putting his finger to her lips.

"It's not for the case, Abs. Just run this one for me... Okay?"

"Gibbs, I'm really tired." She stops when she sees that he's determined to have the results tonight. "So, after I run this can I go home."

"Abs, if you just get it in the computer, I'll wait for the match." He says, knowing she's extremely tired from staring at evidence all day.

"That I can do." She says as she quickly goes into autopilot and begins isolating the DNA cells so they can be profiled in the computer. Once she gets them put into the computer she grabs her things.

"I will see you tomorrow, great leader."

"G'night Abs." He says as he takes a drink of his coffee.

He sits down on the stool and waits for the familiar ding of the computer to signify either a positive match or a negative result.

** TWO HOURS LATER AT GIBBS' HOUSE**

Gibbs walks into is basement. He has a bag of Chinese food and a couple papers in his hand. He walks down the stairs and sits down at his work bench. Ziva walks up to the doorway and stops. She looks out over the basement at Gibbs who is looking down at the papers on his work bench. He's eating as he looks over the paperwork in front of him. She slowly walks down the stairway to the basement. She's stealth like and he doesn't even hear her moving toward him. She's standing right behind him.

"So, do you want to tell me what that was all about today?" She asks. He doesn't jump as she startles him. He quickly flips the paper over so she doesn't see.

"No. Not yet." He replies as if he never had planned on telling her the truth.

"Gibbs. You—" She starts.

"I know what I said…and—damnit Ziva" He turns to her.

"What?"

"I don't know what to do about all of this." He replies almost as if he's pleading with himself and her.

"Do about what Gibbs?"

"Nothing." He stands and walks over to his boat. He picks up a hand sander and begins sanding the boat with his back to her. She waits for him to start working and then flips the paper over. She reads it. He turns toward her when she remains silent. He sees her reading the paper. He doesn't say anything to her; he just looks at her. She feels his stare and turns to him.

"She's your—" She starts.

"Yeah."

"How'd you know."

"I didn't. Not really. My gut just. Hell, I don't know Ziv. I just had this feeling. Like I know her. Knew her. And the more I looked at her the more I felt a connection somehow." He rambles.

"I know." She states simply. He looks at her quizzically. She just shrugs. "Why did you not want to tell me?" She walks over to him at the boat.

"Just didn't seem—"

"Need to know? My God, Gibbs." She grabs his face with her hands. "Why do you still not trust me enough? Hmm?" She says looking him.

"It's not about trust." He says bringing his hands up to hers on his face. He turns his face and kisses her palm. He looks at her. "I trust you Ziva." He reaches down and grasps her hips and pulls her toward him. They rest their foreheads against each other. He kisses her forehead and pulls her into a full hug. "What are you going to do?" she whispers.

"Same thing I always do."

"Ignore the situation and remain quiet about it until everyone assumes you hate them." She replies.

"Something like that." He says to her through a grin. He leans down and pulls her hair to the side as he kisses her neck.

"No, you cannot do that."

"Yes, I can." He kisses her neck again. She pushes him away from her and she turns her back to him and walks over to his work bench. She sits down on a stool. He looks at her for a moment then sighs.

"What exactly do you expect me to do, Ziva?"

"Whatever you want to do." She says.

He just looks at her numb to the idea of saying anything aloud. "Gibbs, how is it even possible? Kelly and Shannon. I didn't even know you had another—"

"She was in the car. When the accident happened. That bastard shot the driver. That's why the car wrecked and why Sh—Shannon and Kelly. They died… she didn't. And he. He. Shot her." His voice cracks as he speaks. "He shot her, Ziva. She was so little." He's almost crying now, he gulps down all the air he can. He takes in a deep breath and tries to speak. Still having trouble forming the words. "When I got back… she was just lying there on that bed. She wouldn't wake up Ziva… I left and I found him—"

"In Mexico." Ziva stated and Gibbs just nodded.

"I killed him Ziva. And then I got back. She was gone."

"What do you mean gone?"

"Died. God, Ziv. I have a death certificate."

"You never saw the body?" She asked surprised that he didn't want to see her.

"No, I couldn't." He said sadly. "She was six. A baby really."

She was shocked to hear him being so open and honest with her. At the same time, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. _This means that they lied to him. They stole his child. Gibbs' child. Wait a minute. She thought._

"Gibbs, who was the doctor?"

"What? Hell, I didn't even think about it. Damn." He took off running up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" She walked toward the steps.

"To find out the name of that damn doctor." He yelled back to her. She ran up the stairs behind him. He walked into the hallway and reached for a string hanging from the ceiling. He pulls down a set of foldable stairs and quickly climbs up them. He searches around the attic moving boxes around and digging through a couple of them. He finally finds the one he wants. He grabs the box and brings it down stairs. He digs through the box and pulls out a pile of folders. He tosses some of them at Ziva. They both search through them. They search and search. Finally, Gibbs picks up a sheet of paper and drops the folder it was in. A picture falls out of the folder. Ziva picks up the picture and looks at it. It's a picture of Gibbs when he was younger and he is wrestling with two young girls. One of the girls is around five and has blonde hair and bright blue eyes while the other girl is around seven and has long brown hair with blue eyes. They look blissful and completely absorbed in one another. Gibbs leans over her shoulder and looks at the photo. He takes it from her and stares at it for a moment reminiscing. He hands it back to Ziva. She doesn't say anything; she just places the Polaroid in her back pocket and begins putting the folders back into the box. Gibbs slides into a sitting position with his back against the wall. He has his knees up to his chest. Ziva scoots over next to him. She slides her hand into his and rests her head on his shoulder. "What're you going to do Gibbs?" she asks him. "I'm going to fix this." He replies.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS THE NEXT DAY**

Calleigh walks into the NCIS bullpen. She is wearing her typical B.D.U.'S. Tony is already at his desk waiting on her to get there. He is pretending to be busy. She walks past his desk and over to Gibb's desk where she sits down.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Tony tells her.

"I'm not touching anything Tony. Just sitting down. What time does he usually get here anyway."

The elevator dings and the doors open.

"About now." He says and looks down at his desk like he's reading paperwork, but he's really just waiting to hear the argument that he knows is coming when Gibbs catches her at his desk.

Gibbs, Ziva, and McGee all exit the elevator and walk to the work area. Gibbs sees her at his desk and he looks at her examining her movements as she says hello. "What's up Tim?" She says. Gibbs watches her as she rotates in the chair to follow McGee's conversation from in front of her to his desk. She seems to have a way of making everyone else disappear except the person she wants to focus on. _Probably a good trait to have. He thought. _He watches McGee's reaction to her and can tell that she has him charmed as well as Tony who steals glances at her every chance he gets. _Definitely gets that from her mother. He thought. _ He approaches her. "Comfortable?" he asks teasing her.

"I could get used to it." She smiles up at him. He just shakes his head and walks behind her. He opens his lock drawer and deposits his gun and clip in it, and then re-locks it. Ziva watches them and then catches Tony doing the same.

"McGee you're with me." Is all he says before heading back toward the elevator with McGee in tow.

"What was that all about?" Tony asks.

"What?" Calleigh asks, genuinely confused.

"Ziva, what was that about?" Tony asks again.

"I don't know. Why are you asking me?" Ziva replies incredulously.

"Uh, because there's no one else here. And you know as well as I do that no one sits at Gibbs' desk without his permission." He states sarcastically.

"What's the matter Tony? Afraid he likes me more than you?" Calleigh teases.

"No. But if he does I could see why." He flashes her a big smile before going back to work.

"Shouldn't we be doing something." Calleigh asks.

"Probably." Ziva replies.

"Then let's get to it. I hate sittin' around it makes the day go slower." Calleigh states as she stands and heads to the elevator.

"A girl who likes to move fast. My kinda woman." Tony says to Ziva as he rushes to catch up with Calleigh. They get in the elevator and head down to Abbey's lab.

** ABBEY'S LAB- MOMENTS LATER**

Gibbs and McGee are already there with Abbey. They are going over the evidence when Tony and Calleigh join them.

"Good morning!" Abbey greets them smiling.

"'Mornin' Abs." Tony returns her smile.

"Find anything good?" Calleigh asks.

"Couple things. Like I was telling Gibbs. First off P.F.C. Thompson was knockin' boots with more than two women. I've got exemplar's from at least four sources on his sheets, and one came back to a Leeann Geneveve she was arrested at eighteen for assault and her prints were also there. This boy was a regular Casanova."

"What else Abs?" Gibbs asks pointedly.

"Most of the fingerprints McGee collected were from marine personnel, all around the same age as Thompson, and from what I read in their jackets they all work together. There was a few unknowns and I'm still running them to see if anything else pops up."

"That's good work Abs." Gibbs tells her and begins to walk out.

'That's not all Gibbs. I, of course, saved the best for last. I found three different people's blood from the samples collected from the scene. One of course was the victims, but the other two are unknown and one is female while the other is male. You bring me something to compare it to and you may have hit the jackpot."

"She's right 'cause most—" Tony starts and is trying to impress but is quickly cut off by Lt. Weisz.

"Most attackers who use knives cut themselves in the process." Calleigh finished.

"Right." Tony says, a little dejected.

"You could've told me this first Abs." Gibbs then turns and walks away. Abbey doesn't notice because she has her back to him. Everyone but McGee files out of the room.

"I know but then you would've just left." She turns to notice everyone has left. "Like you did just now."

"Don't worry Abs. I'm still here." McGee tells her sweetly as he works on the desktop computer.

** NCIS AUTOPSY- MOMENTS LATER**

Gibbs, Tony, and Calleigh file into Autopsy where Ducky and Palmer are working on P.F.C. Thompson's body. Ziva enters a couple moments after them. Gibbs turns to her.

"Spoke with a Sgt. Baker on the phone and he said there is only one person who could be receiving those calls from our dead Private."

"Go. Talk to him."

"Actually it is a her, Gibbs." Ziva corrects him.

"Well then go talk to her, Ziva. Take Calleigh with you." Calleigh immediately turns when she hears Gibbs tell Ziva to take her with her to the base. Ziva motions for her to come on. Calleigh walks past Ziva and out to the elevator. She pushes the button while Ziva is still with Gibbs.

"Have you told her?" Ziva whispers to him.

"No, somehow it just hasn't popped up."

"Ziva, you comin'?" Calleigh calls for her from the elevator. Ziva turns and walks into the elevator with Calleigh. Gibbs walks over to Ducky, DiNozzo and Palmer who are all standing around the body.

"Gotta definite cause of death for me yet?"

"Actually, I do Jethro. My initial thought process was mistaken well not really but in the sense that I thought it was—"

"What'd you mean Duck?" Gibbs asks.

"Well, initially I thought the cause of death was from the multiple stab wounds on his chest and abdomen, but I was wrong. You see here." He leads Gibbs over to examine the multiple x-rays he has taken. Two of them are of the brain. "You see this. It's from a blunt force trauma to the skull, and it caused him to have severe inter-cranial bleeding. It wouldn't have taken long for this to kill him without all the other." Ducky reports.

"So basically you're saying the slicin' him up bit was only for show, and that he bled to death, but not from all the blood he lost at the scene but from his brain?" Tony asks a little confused by the whole situation.

"Precisely, Tony."

"But why didn't he yell for help?" Gibbs asks.

"Oh, well that's easily explained. His larynx was crushed." Palmer states as if he solved a delicate riddle.

"Thank you Mr. Palmer." Ducky says. "Yes, the private here was probably having one hell of a time breathing, and that brings me to my next point. You see the cuts are mildly erratic. You see." He indicates some of the wounds on the body, including some on his back. They vary in depth and length as well as angle.

"Gotta theory?" Gibbs asks Ducky.

"Well in a sense, yes. You see the angles here and here. Well they're from different angles you see. Indicating that this one was made with the right hand and this, the left."

"Could it be from one person using two weapons?" Tony asks.

"Well it is possible I suppose, but highly unlikely. You see he would have been having difficulty breathing which would mean he would have probably been moving erratically and with the head trauma I think it's safe to say he wasn't sitting still.'

"You mean that blow didn't knock him out."

"Oh, no, Tony. He was very lucid when they started hacking away at him." Ducky states firmly.

** MEANWHILE AT QUANTICO MARINE BASE**

Ziva and Calleigh enter the mess hall on base. They walk up to the buffet like bar. There are three marines behind the bar serving people's food. Ziva and Calleigh walk up to the bar in front of Sgt. Baker. They cut in the line in front of several other marines.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, you have to go to the—" Sgt. Baker starts, but shuts his mouth when Ziva pulls out her badge.

"We're not here for lunch Sgt." Calleigh states.

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry ma'am." Baker says.

"We want to know where to find Private Willip, Sgt." Calleigh tells him.

Sgt. Baker doesn't say anything. He is nervous as if he knows more than he is letting on. He looks around wildly.

"You will tell us Sgt. Or—" Ziva tries to begin but Baker numbly cuts her off.

"I don't take orders from civilians Ma'am. I can't help you." He resolutely states.

"You will answer our questions Sgt. Or I will personally see to it that you are charged with conduct unbecoming and see to it you are either stripped of your rank or discharged all together. Is that understood marine." Calleigh firmly states. In a tone of voice befitting a Marine Corps Officer.

"Ma'am. Yes, Ma'am." He says loudly and firmly. Showing that he is very obedient to authority.

"Now where is she Sergeant." Calleigh says unfalteringly.

"In the back." Baker plainly states. Ziva immediately turns and walks around the counter. "Wait you can't be back here." Baker protests. Calleigh follows Ziva.

"Sgt. I suggest you take another look at your sleeves and then look at mine." Calleigh states before continuing past the bar. She and Ziva continue into the back. Sgt. Baker follows them but stops at the doorway. "I think that's enough from you Sgt." Calleigh says turning toward him. He turns and walks back to the serving line. Ziva and Calleigh walk up to a young woman sitting at a small desk in the corner of the room. The woman is small in stature and seems to be less than the average marine. She isn't as clean cut and squared away as most marines even her age. She looks to be about eighteen. They each walk up on her from different angles. Her back is to them she hears them walking.

"I'm coming. I told you I just needed a minute." Pvt. Willis says boredly.

"I don't think that'll be necessary." Ziva says as she shows her her badge. Pvt. Willis turns toward her and that is when she sees Calleigh. She quickly processes the ribbons on Calleigh's sleeves and within a moment she is to her feet and standing at attention.

"At ease." Calleigh tells her. She stands at ease. "Have a seat Private." Private Willis sits back down. Ziva and Calleigh look around and then pull up two five gallon buckets and sit on them.

"May I ask what this is about Ma'am." Private Willis nervously mumbles.

"We have some questions." Calleigh answers.

"I'm just a Private, Ma'am. I don't know what I could possibly know that—"

"We want to know your relationship with P.F.C. Michel Thompson." Ziva states, growing tired of the innocent act.

"I barely know him. We met a few times here and there, but I wouldn't say I like know him or anything."

"He calls here like clockwork everyday. Care to try again." Ziva states. Annoyed.

"Ma'am if he's calling here; he's not calling for me." She tells them as if she is shocked to hear that they think she speaks with him everyday. She's fidgety and keeps fiddling with her hands and finger nails.

"Then tell us who he is calling for because from what we've been told you are the only one who spends most of their time in here." Calleigh informs her.

"I do, but it's not like that." Pvt. Willis says desperately. Ziva looks to Calleigh as if to say she doesn't believe her.

"Enlighten us." Calleigh tells her.

"Ma'am, I come in here because the smell of the food makes me sick." She looks down. Calleigh and Ziva understand what she is implying. She's pregnant. They still have no reason to believe that she didn't receive the phone calls.

"I see. But that still does not explain why it wasn't you the Pvt. Spoke to." Ziva says.

"Ma'am, I'm in here every morning from like five to like five forty five. I'm so sick I can't even do my job in the mornings."

"You're not really making a case for yourself." Calleigh states. Not understanding. Pvt. Willis looks at her, not understanding why she doesn't see her point. Then it dawns on her.

"Ma'am the phone in here doesn't even work. The only phone's the one in front." She states pleading for her to see her point. Ziva and Calleigh look at each other as if they've been dupped. They stand and walk over to the doorway. They lean around the door frame and see the phone on a wall across from the register.

"Anyone could have used that phone." Calleigh says.

"At five thirty in the morning?" Ziva asks incredulously.

"They're marines Ziva. I wouldn't put it past—" she stops. She was looking around as she spoke. She notices a security camera. "I absolutely forgot about that." She walks over to it at tries to get an idea of whether or not it could have seen who answered the phone. "We just installed it about a week ago; if we're lucky we might just see who our mystery man is. Or woman." Calleigh tells Ziva.

"So, let's get the tape." Ziva says as she smiles to Calleigh. Calleigh smiles back at her.

** NCIS HEADQUARTERS, BULLPEN- LATER**

At the NCIS bullpen not a lot is happening. Gibbs is on the phone with someone about a past case. Tony is on the phone with the local law enforcement officers trying to convince to hold Asia Malcombs because they'd picked her up yesterday during a drug raid, but didn't get her prints into the system until this morning. Once they put them in the system Abbey had received a hit on one of the unknown set of prints from the scene. Calleigh and Ziva are working on analyzing the video from the security camera. McGee enters the bullpen and quickly sits at his desk. He pulls up a file on his computer and then says,

"Boss, I may have found a motive for our killer." He taps a few more keys and then the forms on his computer pop up on the plasma in the center of the room. "This was on Thompson's computer. I could be wrong, but to me that looks like—"

"A transaction invoice." Tony interrupts.

"That's what I was thinking, and there's one for each of the last five weeks. I also checked his bank account and money transfers were made on the exact same days as the transactions."

"Well that's not shocking Probie when you buy something, you generally have to pay for it." Tony smirks.

"I know that Tony but money wasn't going out. It was coming in." He clicks the remote and then walks over to his computer and taps a few keys. The plasma screen switches to show Thompson's bank records, side by side, with the transaction invoices. "Nothing large. The amounts range between five and seven hundred dollars." McGee says triumphantly.

"He was on the take." Gibbs says.

"Maybe not." Calleigh says as she stands and gives McGee the tape she and Ziva have been reviewing. She takes the remote from McGee. "May I?" He nods to her. "This is the security tape Ziva and I collected from the mess. Now the tapes are on loop of course so we only have the last forty eight hours, but both days at the exact same time we get this." She clicks play and then pauses it when a man walks up to the phone and answers it. It's a marine who is wearing tactical greens and who has their headwear on which is not standard. One should remove one's headdress when entering a building.

"But this is no good because we can't see his face or name or anything." Tony says.

"For once Tony. We don't have to." McGee says.

"But I don't—" Tony starts.

"It's simple Tony." Ziva says and Tony leers at her before turning his attention back to Calleigh. She just smiles at them and then rolls her eyes. She zooms in on the frozen picture until the marine's shoulder and left sleeve are visible, but extremely blurry.

"Tim can you clarify this for me?" Calleigh asks.

"Of course." He replies cheerfully. He makes a few adjustments on his computer and the picture slowly becomes clear and the man's shoulder and sleeve are clearly visible.

"Look familiar?" Calleigh says as she turns around and looks at Gibbs.

** NCIS-INTERROGATION ROOM- LATER**

The interrogation room is cold and seemingly empty. There is a table in the center of the room with one chair on each side of the table. There is a plasma screen on the wall. Sgt. Baker sits at the table alone. He isn't moving. He is stoic in his mannerisms. He doesn't seem nervous. He's calm and poised.

** NCIS- INTERROGATION VIEWING ROOM- SAME TIME**

Tony, Ziva, and Calleigh stand in the room looking through the one-way glass. The audio technician sits at a small table behind them. They are watching the Sergeant closely, contemplating what his connection to the whole thing is.

"I don't think the kid was on the take." Calleigh affirms.

"Then how do you explain the cash flow?" Tony asks.

"Silent money, maybe." Ziva says.

"Hush money." Tony and Calleigh say simultaneously.

"How are you going to prove it?" Tony asks.

"I don't know, but I will." She states and then turns and walks determinedly out of the room.

"You know, she reminds me a lot of Gibbs." Tony says.

"And you have a crush on her. How interesting." Ziva tosses back at him playfully.

"That's different. She's… and he's … (He notices Gibbs entering the interrogation room) here we go."

** NCIS- INTERROGATION ROOM- SAME TIME**

Gibbs enters the room with a folder in hand. He doesn't speak or look directly at Sgt. Baker. Sgt Baker eyes him as he enters and sits down across from him. Gibbs opens the file and starts pulling out pictures and a sheet of paper. He keeps them face down.

"Comfortable?" Gibbs asks directly.

"Why am I here, sir?" Baker retorts.

"To talk. I heard you were a bit rough the last time my team spoke to you so I figured I do it this time."

"Look, I was having a bad couple of days." Baker says.

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean if I'd killed somebody, I guess I'd be havin' a bad day too."

"Look, I don't know what you're talkin' about sir."

"What about those phone calls we asked you about before. Remember those. 'Cause last time I think you were mistaken."

"Look, I told you who took those calls."

"Yeah, but I don't believe you."

"Sir, it's the truth, I swear."

"Be careful what you swear about Sgt., you are wearing a uniform." He reaches down and flips over the photo of Baker on the phone.

"I don't—" He starts but stops himself. He gets panicky and extremely nervous now because he's been caught in a lie.

"Go on." Gibbs tempts him.

"I didn't know it was illegal to talk on the phone, sir."

"It's not. It's illegal to kill somebody." Gibbs states and stands and walks to the door. He opens it.

"I didn't kill anyone sir, but…" Gibbs stops and re-closes the door.

"Now, why should I believe you now Baker?"

"Because it. I wouldn't do that sir. I—"

"Then tell me who did." Gibbs says loud and forcefully.

"I don't know sir, I just—just—"

"Just what. What SGT!"

"I just let her store her stuff. I was just helpin' her. You have to believe me. I didn't kill anyone. She—she asked me to let her have some stuff sent in with my shipments. So, I did. She said she'd pay me well. She did. I didn't think anyone would get hurt. It was only supposed to be for a—a little while. You know?"

"Who?"

"I don't know. She told me to just call her Asia. That's it. I would just unload it with my other boxes of food and stuff, and then every couple of weeks a guy would come by and take it."

"Who was the guy?"

"I don't know. He always wore glasses, and never said his name. He was a marine though. I know that 'cause his hair, ya know."

"Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"Some kid. He said he knew what I was doing, and—and if it didn't stop he was going to the M.P.'s. I—I told Asia about and it she told me to pay him. So I did, but lately he started callin' like everyday… like he was obsessed or something. Started ramblin' 'bout how it was wrong and—and he couldn't do it anymore."

"Did you tell Asia?" Gibbs asks, but Baker doesn't answer. He looks down ashamed. He's gets upset as realization of what's going on hits him.

"The kid's dead isn't he?" Baker asks. Gibbs flips over the crime scene photos. They are very disturbing and they have an effect on Baker. "My God, it's my fault." Gibbs grabs the papers and stuffs them back into the folder and quickly stands and exits.

** NCIS- HALLWAY**

Tony and Ziva catch up with him in the hallway.

"Gibbs, Asia Malcombs' bein' held at the local P.D. So, it looks like we got her." Tony says.

"How many times have you seen someone get on base without a pass?" Gibbs asks.

"Well never, boss."

"So, an accomplice, yes." Ziva says.

Abbey rushes up to them. "Gibbs, I'm so glad I caught you. I gotta hit on the DNA that Ziva and Calleigh brought me earlier from ah…**" **She can't think of the name.

"Private Willip, Abbey." Ziva offers.

"Yes. Thank you. Well anyway it's a match Gibbs. (He looks perplexed) Her DNA! It's a match to one of the samples from Thompson's sheets." She proudly states. "They were definitely gettin' it on.

"Good work Abs." Is all Gibbs says before rushing off.

** MARINE BASE- APARTMENTS- LATER**

Calleigh and McGee are running up the outside stairs to the apartments. Gibbs sees them and yells.

"Hey!" They stop. He runs to catch up with them. He stops when he reaches them. "Were you planning on informing me of this outing"

"We were going on a hunch boss." McGee replies.

"Got any other reason?" He says even though he's there for the same reason.

"Yeah, my gut." Calleigh says. Gibbs just smiles at her. McGee is confused by the smile Gibbs gives Calleigh. She doesn't even seem to notice either of their reactions. They move on up the stairs and knock on the door. PVT. Willip answers. She's stunned to see them.

** MARINE BASE- PVT. WILLIP'S APARTMENT**

Private Willip is standing at the doorway blocking the entrance.

"Can I help you?" Willip says.

"We have some questions for you." Gibbs tells her. She just looks at them. "Can we come in?" Gibbs asks.

Private Willip moves aside, and the three investigators enter her apartment. They each look around the room in his or her own way. McGee notices the expensive electronics first. Calleigh notices how surprisingly feminine the room appears to be. Gibbs is eyeing Willip trying to get any glimpse of anything. She offers each of them a seat. Gibbs sits while McGee and Calleigh continues to look around without being too obvious about it.

"Were you and Pvt. Thompson having a relationship?" He stares at her as he asks. She considers lying, but doesn't.

"Yes." Willip answers honestly.

"Is he the father?" She doesn't answer. "Did you go to see him early yesterday?" She again doesn't answer his question. She slowly begins to cry. Calleigh notices a baseball bat in the closet because the door is open. She pulls a glove out of her pocket and slips it on her hand. She reaches in and picks up the bat. Gibbs notices her find. He turns his attention back to Willip. "He wasn't alone was he?" She's now crying openly.

"He said he loved me… said he was going to take care of me and the baby…" She says softly. McGee notices her laptops sitting idle. Suddenly the screensaver starts up and photos begin appearing on the screen. Then there in black and white is a photo of Pvt. Willip and Sgt. Baker.

** NCIS—INTERROGATION ROOM—LATER **

Sergeant Baker still sits alone in the interrogation room. Gibbs enters carrying a sheet of paper.

"I'm going to the brig aren't I sir?' Baker asks.

"''Fraid so, Sgt, but I nee d you to sign a form before I release you into the M.P.'s custody. " He hands him the form and a pen. Baker picks up the pen and looks at the form. "It's just a transcript of what you told me earlier." Baker begins to sign with his left hand. He then hands the form and pen back to Gibbs. "I just have one question for you." Baker looks at him. "Just how did it feel to slice into someone with a knife. I mean, everybody's wanted to, right?"

"Sir?" Baker says, seemingly confused. Gibbs leans down to Baker's ear.

"Just how did it feel to find the woman you love in bed with someone else?" Gibbs whispers. Baker's eyes glaze over as he suddenly turns cold. "To know that the whole time she was—"

"It wasn't like that. She's not like that."

"No, that's right."

"I told you sir, I didn't kill anybody."

"No, you let her do it. Didn't you? You wanted him gone so you could keep a good thing going."

Baker looks around wildly. "It wasn't supposed to happen like that. We were just going to scare him. Hit him on the head and scare him. But he went crazy. Started swinging at us and wobbling around. He was so scary, we just panicked."

"He was scary. You punched him in the throat and hit him with a bat! He was bleeding inside his skull! And you were scared!"

"Sir, sir. You have to see my side here." Baker pleads. Gibbs stands and walks to the door. He opens it and then looks back at Baker.

"I don't want to see you side." Gibbs states and then walks out the door, slamming it behind him.

** NCIS BULLPEN- MOMENTS LATER**

Tony sits in his chair at his desk filling out a form. Ziva is putting her belongings into her bag. McGee is sitting at his desk and talking to Calleigh who is standing at the end of his desk. Tony tosses his pen down on his desk, and leans back and sighs while crossing his arms behind his head.

"Well another job well done, if I do say so myself." Tony says as if he's quoting the cliché from some off-the-wall movie. Calleigh looks as if she is about to be ready to leave so Tony makes his move. He hops up out of his chair and bounces over to her.

"So, uh, Calleigh what're your plans for the evening?"

"Oh, uh, actually Tony. Tim asked me to have a drink with him…" She notices he looks a little hurt by this so she adds, "but I'm sure it'd be okay if you came with us, right Tim."

"Yeah, oh yeah. (he looks at Ziva who is sitting at her desk watching everything transpire before her) Ziva, you wanta come with us to get a drink?"

"Sure, I don't see why not." She answers The elevator dings and Gibbs steps off. He walks through the bullpen and places some paper in the drawer on his desk.

"Hey, Gibbs?" Calleigh says. Gibbs looks up at her. "We are all going out to get a drink. Do you want to come with us?"

"Oh, I—" He's unsure.

"C'mon. We're all going. It'll be fun." She says almost in a whiny voice.

"Why not."

"Field trip time." Tony exclaims loudly even though he is a little disappointed because he had planned on getting a date with Calleigh.

"Hold it, guys. I have to run by my apartment to change before we go so I'll meet you there in an hour." Calleigh says putting a damper on the guys' parade.

"Yes, I need to change as well." Ziva adds. "Where are we meeting up?"

"The Keys. It's on 23rd and—"

"I know where it is McGee." Ziva admits. Tony, McGee, and Gibbs look at her quizzically.

"I vote we car pool." Tony suggests a little over zealously. "Calleigh, I could swing by and pick you up if you wanted."

"Actually Tony, I was going to pick her up." McGee says suddenly feeling a boost of confidence and pride since this was all his idea to begin with.

"Probie, who's the senior field agent here."

"That's irrelevant." McGee retorts. Calleigh is looking more and more uncomfortable as the two men argue over who is going to pick her up.

"Hey!" Gibbs shouts at McGee and Tony. "Where do you live Calliegh?"

"Over by the beltway, but I can just drive. It's not really a big deal."

"It's okay. I'll pick you up."

"It's really not necessary guys." She insists.

"No, I want to. To thank you for helping us with the case." Gibbs says. Truth be known he really wants some time alone with her to talk about the DNA results.

"Okay." She walks over and writes her address on a post it on his desk. "Give me an hour." She then turns and walks out of the bullpen and leaves. Tony and McGee watch her leave. As soon as the elevator doors close Tony reaches up and slaps McGee on the back of the head.

"Ow. What the?" McGee exclaims.

"That's for askin' her out Probie. I told you I got dibs."

"You don't have dibs Tony. It's not a competition."

"Oh, it's on Probie."

"You two are pathetic." Ziva states as she stands and walks out of the bullpen. She pushes the button on the elevator and waits. Gibbs walks up behind her and waits on the elevator with her. The doors open and they step in. The doors close.

Tony goes back to his desk and grabs his backpack. He starts toward the elevator and then stops and turns back to McGee. He motions between his eyes and McGee as to say 'I'm watching you.' McGee shakes his head and shuts down his computer and grabs his belongings.

** CALLEIGH'S APARTMENT— LATER**

Calleigh sits on her couch waiting. Her apartment is on the bottom floor of a relatively nice building. Her apartment is not small but not large either. It is a single bedroom apartment, but it has a large living room and kitchen which is why she rented the place to begin with. The bathroom is small and leaves much to be desired, but she accepted because she loves the rest of the apartment. It is very modern and there is a staircase that goes upstairs which is where the bedroom is and her oversized closet. The hand rail is steel and the bars that connect to the steps are also steel. Her appliances in her kitchen are also steel where as the kitchen floor and counters are black marble. The walls in the living room are white as is the carpet while her furniture is black leather. She has a large LCD T.V. on the wall across from her couch above the fireplace. She is sitting on the couch bored. She is all dressed up for the gathering. She wears a sleek, dark brown, dress that v's at the neck and ends just below her knees. Her hair is down and curled. It rests a bit below her shoulders. She has make-up on and her eye shadow goes perfectly with her dark brown dress. She is even wearing heels. She is numbly flipping through the television channels not really stopping on anything in particular. Gibbs is very late. She shuts of the television. Finally, she gets up and grabs her keys, and coat then turns and walks out the door.

** GIBBS' APARTMENT—SAME TIME**

Gibbs sits at his kitchen table. He is looking through and old photo album that he dug out of the bottom of a box that is sitting on the other side of the table. The box is labeled _Shannon's Stuff_. He's drinking a beer. He's wearing a marine corps t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

** THE KEY'S— LATER**

Calleigh arrives at the bar and enters alone. She walks up to the bar and orders a margarita. The bartender moves down the bar to make her drink. She turns around and looks for Tony, Ziva, and McGee. _They better be here._ She thinks. She doesn't see them. She takes in the atmosphere of the place. It is a very classy joint. The square shaped bar sits in the middle of the large room. The lighting is low and gives off just enough light to create a friendly/comfortable aura that could easily turn romantic with the right person. To the left she notices a stage where a young man in a suit with perfectly groomed hair sits playing a beautiful yet upbeat tune on the piano which helps cover the slight hum of conversations. She notices a number of other young people lingering at the edge of the stage, waiting. _Must be waiting for the next set. She thinks. _The bartender taps her on the shoulder and she turns to him. Her drink is ready. She hands him several dollars and takes her drink. She still hasn't spotted anyone. The bartender smiles sweetly at her as if he knows her dilemma. _Great. She thinks. _With her drink in hand, she makes her way around the bar to the backside of the room, and there sitting at a booth in the far corner of the room, just across the small dance floor where more and more people seem to be amassing, sits McGee and Ziva. Tim McGee is dressed very handsomely in an all black suit with a royal blue tie while Ziva has on a beautiful dress that is long and deep purple. It has a slit up the leg on both sides. Her hair is down, but has the sides pinned back. They are engaged in what appears to be a very scintillating conversation. McGee is drinking a bottled beer while Ziva sips at what looks like a cosmopolitan, and there is one beer sitting next to her on the table, but without an owner. _Must be Tony's. She mentally processes._ She makes her way toward them, and is halfway across the dance floor before McGee catches a glimpse of her. Ziva, however, is still talking so he returns his attention to her, but seems to be a little less enthusiastic about their discussion than he had been previously. Calleigh reaches the table and McGee quickly slides out of the booth and motions for her to get in first. She smiles at his gentlemanly manners and gently slides into the booth being mindful of her dress. McGee smiles back at her and blushes slightly as he feels proud of himself for some unknown reason. He doesn't sit back down immediately.

"Tim?" Calleigh calls out to him. He looks at her. "You going to sit down or what?" She asks. He sits next to her and blushes.

"You look very nice." Ziva compliments her.

"Thanks Ziva, so do you. I love your dress."

"Where's Gibbs?" Ziva asks.

"He never showed. I thought maybe I misunderstood him earlier, so I just came on. I figured he'd be here." Calleigh replies.

"No, we haven't seen him." McGee informs her. "Maybe somebody should call him." He suggests as Tony rejoins the table.

"Hey Calleigh." He says as he sits down next to Ziva. "You look great. I mean, better than great. I—" Ziva elbows him in the side. "Ow. What was that for?"

"Gibbs never showed." Ziva tells him.

"Oh, you should've called, I would've came and picked you up." Tony says to Calleigh. She smiles at him in return. She takes a drink of her margarita. McGee looks a little annoyed at Tony for his constant flirting. _He's so much better at this than me. God, how am I supposed to compete. He thinks._

"Is Abbey not coming?" McGee asks.

"Bowling night. You know I think I am going to call Gibbs." Ziva states as she forces Tony out of the booth. She walks away pulling out her cell phone as she walks. Calleigh is now left alone with the two men who seem to be dueling for her. McGee and Tony eye each other as if they are in an old western about to commence in a shootout when the clock strikes twelve. Calleigh notices them. She rolls her eyes as she quickly funnels down her drink.

"I'll get you another—"Both Tony and McGee say in unison as they jump to get her another drink. Tony rushes to the bar and orders her drink. McGee sits back down next to her.

"Sorry." He sadly says about not getting her drink.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine." She replies as she smiles up at him. He smiles back at her, and takes a drink of his beer.

At the bar, Tony is waiting on her drink, and he notices McGee making her smile. He turns around to see what's taking so long when he notices a woman has sat down next to him. _Hello. He thinks._ She is slim and petite with brown hair and caramel eyes. She wears a red dress that doesn't clash with her tanned body. She is very pretty. He grins sheepishly at her. She returns his grin. The bartender hands him the drink and he pays for it.

"Tony." He says to her.

"Mandi." She greets him. A band has now taken the stage and is playing alternative music and people are beginning to dance, if that's what one wants to call it. "You wanta dance?" She asks him and before he can think of a response she takes his hand and leads him to the dance floor. He almost forgets that he has Calliegh's drink in his hand. He stops her and she looks confused. He holds up a finger for her to hold on a moment. He quickly runs to the table and sets down Calleigh's drink. Calleigh begins to say thank you, but he's gone before she can. _Thank God. McGee thinks._

** OUTSIDE KEY'S—SAME TIME**

Ziva is pacing around the front entrance. Her phone is to her ear.

"Damnit Gibbs. Answer the phone." She says in frustration. She hangs up and dials again and again.

** GIBBS' HOUSE- SAME TIME**

Gibbs is furiously working on his boat. He's still drinking and has been for a good while now. He is a bit tipsy, but has no intention of stopping. He hears his phone ring and pulls it out of his pocket. He looks at it and sees Ziva's name. The ringing stops and he's grateful. He tosses it onto the workbench, and goes back to work painting. Suddenly the ringing comes again. He answers.

"What?!" He growls.

** OUTSIDE KEY'S—SAME TIME**

Ziva was not expecting his harshness and it took her by surprise.

"Are you alright?" She asks calmly, worry evident in her voice.

**GIBBS' HOUSE- SAME TIME**

"Peachy, Ziva, just peachy." He replies gruffly. His words are a little more drawn out than normal.

** OUTSIDE KEY'S—SAME TIME**

"Are you drunk?"

** GIBBS' HOUSE- SAME TIME**

"Goodbye, Officer David." He slowly says before hanging up the phone. He then opens it back up and turns it off. For a moment he thinks about why he did her that way but the thought left his mind as quickly as it had entered.

** THE KEY'S—SAME TIME**

Tony is still dancing with Mandi. She is very flirtatious and keeps touching his body as they dance. Meanwhile, McGee and Calleigh are still at the table.

"So, do you want to dance?" McGee asks her but she shakes her head no. He looks a bit dejected.

"It's not you Tim. I just can't dance. I'm too self conscious." She honestly states and takes a drink of her drink. "So, how'd you get into this?" He looks at her a little confused by her question. "NCIS."

"Oh, it just sort of happened I guess. I mean I studied computer forensics at MIT and—what about you? I mean why the marines?"

"It just sort of happened I guess." She says mockingly. She laughs at herself a little. "No, I finished high school really early and so I finished college really early and figured what have I got to loose. It just felt right at first, ya know?"

"It doesn't feel right now?" He asks. She just shrugs. A waiter walks up to their table and brings them fresh drinks.

"Why does it intimidate you?... The marine thing?"

"You mean because you could kill me without breakin' a sweat?" He says quickly and jokingly. She smiles at him.

"Somethin' like that." She answers back. He smiles and confidently says,

"No, no, I think I can handle it."

"Good. And you know what the most important thing about being a marine is, right?" She says smiling widely. She is a little drunk and so is he.

"Enlighten me." He challenges her. She leans toward him and puts one hand on the side of his face and pulls his head down so his ear is next to her lips and she boldly whispers,

"We don't mind makin' the first move." He quickly turns his face to hers and she kisses him. His phone suddenly rings and interrupts them. He leans back and pulls it out of his coat pocket. He opens it and puts it next to his ear as he slides his other arm around Calleigh's shoulders.

"McGee." He answers. "Why?... Well, no, I took a cab… Oh, okay. Hold on. I'll ask." He turns to Calleigh. "Ziva wants to know if she can borrow your car. She says it's important."

"Yeah, sure. Of course." She pulls out the keys. McGee pulls out his wallet and drops some money on the table to pay for the drinks and then slides out of the booth, followed by Calleigh.

"Ziva, can you hear me! We're bringing the keys out now! Yeah!" He screams before closing his phone. They walk past Tony and tell him they are leaving. Tony nods to them and they continue toward the door. Tony is really attracted to this new girl. She dances better than anyone he's ever seen. _She's so hot. This is great. Tony thinks._

** OUTSIDE THE KEY'S**

Ziva is waiting very impatiently on McGee and Calleigh. She is clearly worried._ Why are you so upset? It's Gibbs. He can take care of himself. He doesn't need you to be there. She thinks. _Finally, Calleigh exits the bar door followed by McGee. Calleigh walks directly to Ziva and hands her the keys to her car.

"It's the blue Prius, over there." She points her car out to Ziva. It's a bold blue with metallic chips in the paint, and has chrome on the trimming and rims.

"Nice car." McGee says.

"We can't all drive Porsches, besides, I like it." Calleigh tell him.

"Thank you. I will bring it back to you later."

"Just keep it 'till tomorrow. I'll take a cab." She suggests. Ziva nods and then heads to the car.

"Do you want to go get something to eat?" Calleigh suggests.

McGee just smiles at her and opens his phone and dials. "Hi, I need a cab at The Key's…Yeah, that's the one."

** GIBBS' HOUSE—LATER**

Ziva bangs on Gibbs' door for what seems like an eternity before Gibbs answers. He is pretty drunk and his clothes are all disheveled and he has some paint splotches on him from where he has been working on his boat. Ziva of course still looks stunningly beautiful from the bar. He doesn't say anything to her when he opens the door. He just steps aside and lets her enter, as if he knew this was coming. She steps inside and he closes the door behind her. He walks past her and into the kitchen.

"So, what is it Z-I-V-A?" He drawls out her name.

"What are you doing?" She asks redundantly.

"I'm getting drunk. Don't they do that in Israel?"

"Gibbs."

"Maybe not. But you've been here long enough to know we do it. Hell, everybody does it." He says absentmindedly. He starts picking up the photographs that are strewn all over the table. He places them in the box that also sits on the table. She looks down at the photographs as he picks them up.

"Wallowing in your sorrows, I see." She says coldly.

"What do you want?" He asks just as coldly.

"I do not want anything—"

"Then why are you here?" He interjects.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright. Calleigh said you didn't pick her up and when I called you hung up on me, so." She stops when she notices he is looking at her as if she's crossed some imaginary boundary.

"Did we get married and I forget about it Officer David. Last I checked, I don't report to you." He retorts incredulously.

"No, but I thought—"

"What Ziva? I'm almost twice your age. What?" He's almost yelling, but keeps a tone that everyone gets when they're drunk. She knows he's drunk and is trying to not let his words bother her, but they do.

"Gibbs, you're drunk and don't know what you're saying." She states. He just picks up a bottle of bourbon off his table and drinks heartedly from the bottle.

"Yes, I'm drunk, but I know exactly what I'm saying." He says in a lower tone than before. He walks past her and into his living room, bottle in hand. "Go be with Tony. You flirt with him enough." He says as he plops down on his sofa. Ziva's mouth drops open as she processes what he just said. He pays her no more attention as he turns on the television and leans back on the sofa. She walks into his kitchen and sits down at the table. _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She thinks in reference to herself._ She looks around the kitchen. There are several empty bottles of beer and a small empty bottle of bourbon scattered around the countertops. There are also some dirty dishes and various things lying on the counters. She resists the urge to cry and to peek into the box that held so many memories of his past. Instead, she begins cleaning the kitchen. She picks up everything in site and either tosses it or washes it. She dusts, sweeps, and mops, but never touches or even peeks inside the lonely box on the table.

When she finishes she makes her way throughout the house cleaning as she goes. She doesn't speak to him and he doesn't speak to her. Truth be told he passed out on the couch while she had been cleaning the kitchen. She, however, assumes he just isn't speaking to her. She ends up cleaning the living room, den, basement, both full bathrooms plus the half bath, and even his room. She doesn't venture into any of the other two rooms out of respect. Finally, she feels as though her anger is spent and goes into the den where she sits down on a couch and flips through magazine she'd found in the bathroom. Soon after she drifts off to sleeps.

_ ---The Next Morning--- _

Gibbs wakes up on the couch with an unbelievable pounding in his head. He wipes his hand over his face, and looks around. No one else seems to be there. _I know someone else was here. Wasn't there? He thinks. _He suddenly notices the television seems to be blaring on and on about some must have product. He grabs the remote that seems to have found its way underneath him and shuts it off. He gets up and goes into the kitchen. It's really clean. _What the hell? Now I know someone was here. Had to be a woman. Damn, what am I going to tell Ziva? He thinks. _He runs his hand through his hair and then walks to the coffee pot and turns it on. He then walks straight up stairs and into the bathroom where he showers, shaves and brushes his teeth. All of which takes very little time. It's still really early. He goes back down stairs notices as he goes that everything is extremely clean, too clean. He suddenly has the urge to make a mess in every room he walks into. He notices the couch in the den has a blanket on it. He walks into the den. Ziva is asleep on the couch under the blanket. _Great. He thinks. _He doesn't disturb her, instead, he walks back to the kitchen and fills his coffee cup and drinks the hot liquid hoping to stop the pounding in his head. He finishes off the first cup in record time and then he refills his cup and another for Ziva. He walks back into his den. He sits down on the coffee table across from the couch and waves the hot steamy cup of coffee under her nose. She doesn't even move. He sets their cups down on the table next to him. He reaches out to move her hair out of her face, but just as he is about to touch her she suddenly reaches up and grabs him arm.

"Do not touch me." She tells him without hesitation.

"I was just gonna'—"

"Don't." She says. He sighs and moves his hand away from her. He picks up his coffee and drinks from it as he tries to recall what he must have said to her last night, but to no avail. _Shit. I'm gonna need a lot more coffee than this._ Ziva sits up and wipes her face. She looks at him for a moment before adjusting her dress. _Wow, she looks really beautiful in that dress. He thinks. _He sighs again.

"Ziva—"

"No, Gibbs it's fine. I was just going." She says standing and picking up the blanket and automatically folding it. "I was only just staying to make sure you weren't dead." She rushes. She then abruptly turns and walks out of the den.

"Ziva would you just stop for a minute?!" He calls after her as he follows her through his house.

"Why Gibbs, you don't report to me remember." She says to him as she opens his front door. He grabs her arm. She then turns to him. "Release my arm, please."

"No."

"Gibbs ."

"We can talk." He says knowing that's what she wants to here. She knows he knows that's what she wants.

"I think you did enough of that last night." She turns. He doesn't release her arm.

"Please." Is all he says then relinquishes his hold on her arm. She doesn't leave as he expects her to; instead, she walks back into his living room and sits on the couch. He closes the door and then turns to her. _What now? He thinks._ He just looks at her.

"So, talk."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Why didn't you pick her up last? Why haven't you told her who you are? Who she is?"

"I don't know."

"She deserves to know, yes."

"This isn't exactly what I meant we could talk about."

"There is nothing else to talk about, Gibbs." She says in a sad voice as she looks away from him. Suddenly all the things that had happened last night flooded his mind. He crosses the room to her.

"God, Ziva, I was drunk. I didn't know what I was saying."

"Oh, you made it perfectly clear that you knew exactly what you were saying, Gibbs."

"Would you stop with the Gibbs, thing? We're not at work." He states firmly as he sits down next to her. She consciously moves a bit away from him. "Ziva." He pleads as he tosses his hands up in the air as if to say what'd you expect me to do. He looks at her. "I didn't mean those things last night Ziva. You know that."

"It's okay. You were right last night. I assumed too much. We are colleagues who happened to—I went too far—" He places his finger to her lips.

"No, no you didn't." He tries to assure her.

"I just don't want you to make the mistake of letting her go without knowing the truth. She deserves that and so do you."

"I'm going to tell her today, but I don't want you to feel—"

"I don't feel anything. I'm trained not to remember." She half smiles up at him.

"That's not what I meant." He defends himself. She's misunderstood him.

"Look, we aren't married. We are not even dating really. So what does it really matter?" _Why did I tell her that? I knew she'd throw that back at me. Damnit, I'm such a bastard. He thought after hearing the first part of her statement._ He grabs her face and forces her to look at him.

"It matters to me." He pauses for a moment. Once again he has shocked her by being so open. _He really does care about me. She thinks while watching his reaction. _"I want to be with you Ziva. I want you here."

"You do?" She asks skeptically.

"Well you do, do a damn fine job of cleaning when you get pissed off." He jokes. He smiles at her. He then leans in to kiss her and as he closes the distance between them she slides off the couch and out of his reach. _What the hell. He thinks. _She stands and places her hands in her back pockets and turns back to him.

"I, uh, haven't brushed yet." She says embarrassed and points to her teeth. "I better go anyway, and get ready for work." She says as an escape. She turns to go.

"Ziva." He calls her while still sitting on the couch. She turns. "It's Sunday and we're off today. You can get cleaned up here." He stands and walks toward her. He takes her hand and begins leading through the house and up stairs to the bathroom. He digs through the cabinet and begins pulling out a towel, washcloth, and even a new toothbrush. She picks up the toothbrush.

"You just keep these laying around for whoever might be staying over?"

"Something like that." He continues digging and she wonders what he is still looking for. Then he pulls out a new bar of soap. Manly soap, but at least it's a new bar. He sits it with the other things and stands. "There you go. All set."

"Just one little problem." He looks at her with confusion evident on his face. "Clothes. I have nothing to wear."

"I'm sure I can find you something." He assures her before leaving the bathroom. She grabs the washcloth and soap and begins taking her shower. Gibbs is looking through his drawers for something that she could wear. _Why haven't I given her some drawers to put stuff in yet. He thinks._ He makes a mental note to do that later. Finally he resorts to just a plain pair of grey sweats and an old N.C.I.S. t-shirt. He walks over to the bathroom door, and hears the water running in the shower. He stops and contemplates whether or not he should enter. He opens the door a little and places the clothes on the counter top. He begins to close the door, but can't resist the urge to peak in at her._ I'm gonna have to get a different shower door that doesn't blur everything. He thought._ He then silently closes the door and heads back down stairs. He goes into the kitchen and finds his cell phone next to the box of photographs, just where he'd left them last night. He picks up his phone and opens it. He finds Calliegh's number. He breathes deeply, dials the number, and then brings the phone up to his ear to wait for what seemed to be the longest thirty seconds of his life.

"Hello." McGee answers.

"McGee!" Gibbs yells in shock more so than anger.

"Boss?" McGee says. Confused and groggy. Gibbs hears someone in the background. It's Calleigh. "Why are you answering my phone?" She asks him. Gibbs listens to them talking. "You were asleep." McGee tries to explain himself to her.

"McGee, what the hell are you doin'?" Gibbs asks but before McGee can reply Calleigh takes the phone.

"Hello… Hello?"

"Calleigh. Hi it's Gibbs."

"Oh, hey." She sounds uncertain of why he is calling her.

"I just wanted to apologize for, uh, last night—" he starts.

"—Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal… Have you seen Ziva though 'cause she took my car last night."

"Yeah, she actually just stopped by—" She cuts him off again. He can hear a lot of movement in the background. _I'm going to kill McGee. He thinks._

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine."

"Why don't you come here? You could pick up your car and we could talk."

"Talk?" _That's weird. She thinks._

"Yeah, I like to know the people I work with." He says in a joking way. _She's going to think you're a perv or something. He thinks. _He waits for her response. She's thinking of how impolite it would be to say no, and he does seem like he's just being nice.

"Okay, I'll uh catch a cab, I guess. Where do you live?"

"Just get the address from McGee. Actually, can I speak with him for a sec?" He hears some rustling on the other end of the line and then McGee whispering "Is he mad?" to her. He had to admit that if she was going to be with one of his agents he was glad it was McGee. Not that Tony was a bad guy either, but he is a well known womanizer and McGee is the well known elf lord.

"Hello." McGee nervously answers.

"What the hell is going on. Are you playing slumber party McGee?"

"Boss, I swear nothing happened."

"I don't believe you McGee."

"Boss, we all went to the bar, and Calleigh and I ended up here and we were both a little drunk, but nothing happened." McGee is flabbergasted at how nervous and unsettled he is now. After all he hadn't done anything wrong here. They are both adults. "Boss? Are you there?" McGee asks because Gibbs is being so quiet. Gibbs hangs up his phone. He had to admit that deep down he really did believe him because McGee wouldn't lie to him and truth be told he wasn't a very effective liar anyway. He stands there for a moment thinking. Ziva walks up to the entrance to the kitchen. She's wearing his sweats and his shirt. He looks at her. Her hair is still wet from her shower and the clothes are too big for her, but she still manages to look beautiful.

"A little big, yes." She says as she pulls the elastic waist of the pants out to show how big they are on her.

"They work don't they?"

"I suppose so." She walks over to him and is about to say something when he blurts out.

"Calleigh's on her way here. I told her to come get her car and that I wanted to talk to her." Ziva takes a moment to process what he just said to her. _This is good. He needs to talk to her. _Then the situation really hits her like a ton of bricks. _What will she think when she finds me here. She's going to think we are sleeping together. I have to go home. Now. Crap._ All these thoughts rush her mind. She pulls her phone out of the pocket of the oversized sweats and dials a number.

"Who are you calling?" Gibbs inquires.

"A cab. I can't be here when she arrives." She tells him. Then she speaks to the person on the phone, "Yes. I need a cab at—" Gibbs walks to her and closes her phone. "Gibbs?"

"Stay here. I want you to. Call it encouragement." He quickly leans down and pecks his lips against hers. She's stunned. "You hungry?" He asks then goes over and begins making breakfast for the three of them.

**-----Later----**

The door bell rings just as Gibbs finishes up cooking breakfast. Ziva gets up from the table and looks at him for reassurance before going to the door. She answers it.

"Hi Ziva." Calleigh says as if she isn't surprised to find Ziva at Gibbs' house and in his clothes. In fact, if Ziva hadn't known that she was an investigator she wouldn't even have thought that Calleigh had noticed her attire at all. It takes a moment for Ziva to realize that Calleigh is still standing on the doorstep and that she's still holding the door.

"Come in, Please." Ziva finally invites her in. Calleigh enters the house. Suddenly she feels a little dizzy because a flood of memories begin hitting her at once. They are a bit jumbled together and are hard to grasp. She feels as though her head is spinning and she can't concentrate. The smell. She knows the smell. She doesn't know how, but it's familiar. It's safe. She looks around and the more she takes in of her environment the more pictures that flash through her head. _How do I know this place? I've been here before, I know it._ She notices Gibbs looking at her strangely from the kitchen.

"You okay?" He asks while placing the last plate on the table where there is a very enticing looking breakfast waiting to be devoured.

"Yeah. Fine." She lies. "Do you have a bathroom I could—"

"Yeah." He says and begins walking toward it followed closely by Calliegh. They go up the stairs and when they reach the top he says, " Second door on the right."

"Thanks." She walks to the door and reaches for the door knob. She pauses for a moment as another flash goes through her mind. It's like dejavu. Every move she's made so far in this house has seemed oddly familiar to her. Gibbs who had been moving back down the stairs notices her hesitation and watches her. Finally she enters the bathroom and closes the door. He returns to the kitchen. Calleigh reaches the sink and splashes water on her face. _This is so weird. What's wrong with me._ She splashes more water on her face and then looks at her reflection. She dries her face on a hand towel and exits the bathroom. She begins to head back down stairs, but doesn't. Instead she allowed curiosity to get the better of her. Everything seemed familiar and she wanted to know why. The three other closed doors were too tempting to resist. She peeks over the banister of the stairs and makes sure she doesn't see anyone. She slowly makes her way to the two farthest rooms. She walks up to the first door. She slowly opens the door and enters. It looks like it used to be a child's room. However, there are white sheets covering most of the furniture. There is border along the crown molding, its Strawberry shortcake. _Must have been a little girls room. _Suddenly feeling out of place she makes her way out of the room. She pulls the door to a close behind her. Now the next door. She quickly moves inside the room. Another child's room. _I wonder if everyone else knows about this. _Much like the other room, the furniture is covered with white sheets. She pulls the sheet off of the single bed that seems to sit lower to the floor than most single beds. Another flash flows through her mind. It seems like a memory that she never had. She's struggling to climb on a bed. This bed, but it is higher in the flash. Then someone helps her from behind. And then the thought his gone. No face or anything. She looks around the room some more. She notices this room has a border as well only this one is of care bears and it goes all the way around the room. _I used to like care bears. Hmm. Must have been another girl. Wonder what happened. _She hears a slight noise from the hallway. She freezes. She tip toes over to the door and barely cracks it. She peeks around the edge of the door. She sees Ziva coming out of the farthest door from her. She waits and then exits when Ziva is out of sight. She walks down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just still recovering from last night, I guess." She laughs it off, feeling nervous as if they may know something.

"Sit. Eat." Gibbs tells her. She takes a seat at the small square table. It looks hand carved. Ziva sits across from her while Gibbs sits on the end. "Coffee?"

"No, thank you. It stains your teeth ya know. I'll just get some water."

"I'll get it." He says as he stands and goes to the refrigerator and gets her ice water. He brings it back to her at the table. _Shannon liked water with her breakfast. Coffee made her jumpy in the mornings. He thought. _"So, how's McGee?" He says and instantly regrets it because he doesn't know if that is crossing over some unwritten boundary. Calleigh doesn't miss a beat.

"A little unsettled by your discussion, this morning but otherwise he is/was great." She said smiling, but then she notices how they are both looking at her and how that may have sounded. "I mean when I left him he was good. Not that. Nevermind." She takes several bites of her food. The silence was deafening as well as awkward. "So, Gibbs you said you wanted to talk to me. What's goin' on? Everything's okay I hope."

"Everything's perfect." He says and looks at her intently looking for any recognition in her eyes. _What are you really looking for you idiot. She was only a kid._ His gaze makes her a bit uncomfortable as she looks at Ziva and then back at him.

"You know what's really weird?" Calleigh says without really thinking about it. Gibbs looks at her with a genuine look of interest. "I feel like I've been here before… I mean, I know I haven't, but it's kind of like dejavu. It's weird."

Gibbs smiles at her. Ziva stands and says, "I'll be back. I'm just going to go to the bathroom." She smiles at Calleigh.

"Was it something I said?" Calleigh asks Gibbs after Ziva leaves the room. Gibbs stands and walks over to the counter and brings a folder back with him to the table. He sits back down. He opens the folder and pulls out a sheet of paper. He passes it to Calleigh.

"What'd you see?" He says more as a statement than a question. She looks at the document as she finishes chewing up a bite of eggs. She swallows before saying,

"It's a DNA test.."

"And?" He presses her.

"And you already knew that. Uhm, it looks like they're related. There's one, two—" her voice cuts off as she mentally counts, "Plenty of alleles to suggest that they are definitely related." She looks at the left column of the document. The top cell has XY in it while the cell underneath it has XX. "Father and daughter, right." She looks up at him.

"Right."

"So what'd you want me to tell you that for. Anyone could read those results. Who's are they anyway. There aren't any names on there."

"They're yours." He deadpans.

'Really." She looks back at the paper as if she is going to discover something new by this tidbit of information. "Why would you do a DNA test on me? I told you who my father is." She continues looking at the document. "Well, if this is mine somebody made a mistake."

"What?"

"My dad's A-Positive. This says O- Neg. So they must've messed up and gave you the wrong results."

"They didn't."

"But, that would mean that he's not my—" she stops herself and looks up at him. He shakes his head no. "that's not funny, Gibbs."

"No, its not. It's very serious." He waits a moment for her to digest the information she is receiving. He can see the questions forming in her mind. She's perplexed. _She doesn't get it. _"Calleigh that's my DNA sample. I took mine, and yours, and I gave it to Abbey to run. I waited for the results myself. They're not wrong."

"It's not possible… This is crazy. Are you serious?"

"You read the results yourself." He says in all seriousness. He's trying to be as calm as possible even though he has a million questions for her about her life, and the accident.

"How? Why?... I'm sorry, I'm very confused." She says as she visibly pales. "I think I'm going to be sick." She says as she runs out his front door and abruptly vomits on his lawn. He follows her and waits at the door frame. She vomits up everything she'd had for breakfast and more. She doesn't know if she's crying from vomiting or from the intense situation she seems to have found herself in. Gibbs observes her for a moment and then he goes back inside to get her a cool washcloth. She looks around and has a sudden urge to run in the house, grab her keys, jump in her car and high tail it out of there. But then there was something keeping her from doing that. It was like a force that was out of her control. So, she walked back into the house where Gibbs stood waiting in the kitchen with a glass of water and a cool compress. She rinses her mouth out at the sink and then walks back to him. She then walks past him and into the living room. She sits down on the couch, thousands of questions running through her mind, but she could only vocalize one. "How?" Is the only thing she can bring herself to ask. He walks over and sits on his coffee table across from her. He recounts what happened with the accident which led to the death of Shannon and Kelly, and to her being hospitalized. Then he told her how he had left her for two days when he went to Mexico and killed the man who had caused the crash. He told her of how when he returned the doctor had told him she was dead. He told the words exactly as the doctor had spoken them. The pain was still there, from the loss of his family. He is upset. Calleigh feels for him, but at the same time she is still confused. He tells her that she was only a child and that he couldn't bear to see her body, and how the whole situation almost drove him mad. He goes back into the kitchen and leaves her on the couch reeling from what he just told her. He returns with another paper in his hand. It's her death certificate. He hands it to her and she reads it. She cries as she reads the information on it and see the signature at the bottom of it. It's the signature of the man she had thought was her father.

"Well at least my name really is Calleigh, huh." She tries to jest, but her emotions are too strong. Gibbs doesn't know what to do. Ziva observes them from the edge of the room. Gibbs finally tries to hug her to give her some comfort. She abruptly slaps him across the face and then on his chest. He has to grab her wrists to make her stop. He pulls her into his chest.

"You should never have left me." She cries. The scent she inhales from him brings another rush of flashes/ memories of her early childhood. She doesn't know why his hold comforts her more than any she's ever received before.

"I know." He says to her as he feels the tears rush down his face and into her hair. _I'm going to get him if it's the last thing I do. _He thinks, referring to the man who had taken her so long ago. He soon looks up to see Ziva watching them from the edge of the room. He looks her straight in the eye and it is as if he spoke directly to her soul. She knew that the hunt for this man would not cease until he was found and dealt with one way or another.

Calleigh manages to regain some of her composure. "I think I knew. I think I knew the whole time." She says into his chest. She sits up and looks at him. "I never wanted to admit it to myself."

"You don't remember anything from then?"

She wipes her face and sniffs a little. She shakes her head 'No.' "It's like a blank. It's like I remember waking up in the hospital, but nothing before. I just assumed everything he told me was the truth. I should've known better."

"You couldn't have known better. I should have known better."

"I felt it Gi—" Suddenly it feels weird to call him that. "It was like something has always been gnawing at me my whole life."

"It's okay." He says and smiles at her. He looks her over quizzically.

"It all makes sense now. The constant moving. The way he would never talk about my mother. Huh, how could he. He didn't even know her." She's very disheartened when she references the mother she never knew. Gibbs picks up on it.

"I knew her. I'll tell you anything you want to know." He tells her. She laughs at his statement because it seems so cheesy to her. She feels as if she has just lost everything but gained everything plus more back.

"What does this mean for my—for Colonel Wiesz?" She asks him even though she already knows the answer and has a few choice words and questions for him herself, but at the same time she still loved him. He had raised her after all. Gibbs doesn't answer her question. He just watches her for a moment.

"Okay, you're going to have to stop with the examining looks. If you want to know something just ask it. I can't take the stare." She boldly states. She is blunt. _Like me, he thinks._

"How'd you make First Lieutenant so fast?" He asks her. She rolls her eyes at the trivial question.

"You could have just looked at my jacket for that."

"Yeah, but I want to hear it from you."

She sighs. "Okay, it's not very interesting though… I was home-schooled through Elementary and Jr. High and I finished Jr. High very early, so I went and took a test so I could go to a public high school. I tested kind of high I guess because before I knew it I was in tenth grade with people much older than me. It was hard at first, but I finished when I was fourteen so I went to college at USC. I studied Criminal Justice with an emphasis on criminality and crime scenes because I'd been encouraged to study pre-med. I finished when I was seventeen and I joined the Marines and I guess they thought I was officer material because I'm a good shot. End of story." He laughed at her way of making that seem easy. _Must have gotten the brains from her mother. Definitely not from me._

"Why USC, and what do you mean a good shot?" He asks completely intrigued by the fact that she didn't go to Harvard or Yale.

"I liked their football team, and I was a sniper before I was changed my m.o.s. to what I'm doing now… My turn. What was my mother like?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She'd been a sniper like him for a short while. As he processed her question his thoughts went back to Shannon on the day they were married.

"I'll show you." Is all he says. Ziva walks upstairs and into Gibbs' room to give them some privacy to talk. Gibbs retrieves the box that holds many of the memories of his family that Shannon and he had amassed.

"That's a lot of pictures." She says as she looks into the box.

"It was a hobby with Shannon… plus, it covers a lot of years." He pulls out albums and stacks of photographs and spreads them out across the table.

"Shannon. That was her name?" She asks not realizing the pain it causes him to think of her being completely forgotten. Calleigh truly has no recollection of her at this point event he name sounds foreign on her lips. Gibbs just looks at her and nods his head yes. Calleigh observes the photographs as he spreads them across the table, surprised that they seem to be very organized and showed many happy times between two children and a red headed woman. Others had a younger Gibbs in them.

"Must have been hard for you… being a marine and trying to have a family." She looks up at him for a moment. "I don't think I could do it." She half smiles at him and then continues to look at the photographs. She picks one up that has all four of them in it.

"This is a good photo." She flashes it toward him to show him.

"Yeah, it was at the beach in Florida. You were four." He drifts off as the memory rushes into his head. He can vividly see them all playing on the beach. All three of them were happy and running. The girls would chase the water and then run and giggle when the next wave came in to chase them back on the beach. Calleigh looks at him and realizes he is reminiscing.

"Gibbs… I.. I don't know how I'm supposed to react to all this. I mean, I believe you. I'm not an idiot. I know how to read DNA results and the familiarities and pictures… I just… " She stops herself because she doesn't know how to continue. She sits down and places her head between her hands. Gibbs watches her. "I am almost twenty-two years old. And up until now everything, everything has been a lie. My whole life. (she looks up at him) I don't really even know who I am."

Her words are like a crushing blow to his abdomen. He feels his heart sink. The whole time he had only been thinking of himself and how he wanted his daughter back, and not how all of this would affect her. He felt like kicking himself. _How could I have been so stupid. Shannon wouldn't have let this happen. Wouldn't have hurt her like this._

"This doesn't change who you are Calleigh. It just—" He begins but she cuts him off.

"Yes, it does. It changes everything Gibbs. I mean, my father, well who I thought was my father isn't, and instead I randomly meet a man at a freakin' crime scene for goodness sake and he turns out to really be my father, and now the man I thought was my father should really be arrested for kidnapping me, but I never thought he kidnapped me because he was the one waiting for me when I woke up at the hospital, so I naturally assumed---"She is rambling on and on. He walks over to her and pulls her into a hug. She stops talking and breathes deeply taking in his scent which would seem strange to her in any other situation, but right now it is all she wants to do. It's surprisingly soothing.

"I'm sorry." He whispers into her ear. He then kisses her temple and then forehead. He pulls back and looks her straight in the face. She's crying. "Look at me." It takes her a moment, but she looks up into his eyes. "I will never not be there for you again. Do you hear me? Ever."

"Gibbs, I'm grown, and I'm an officer in the Marine Corps even though I may not look like it right now. And I don't need—"

"Humor me." He says as he relinquishes his hold on her. He sits back in his chair as she wipes her face and tries to laugh at her emotional reaction.

"Leave it to me to cry like a baby." She scoffs and then feels dizzy as memories flood through her mind again. They are fuzzy and in broken pieces.

"The room upstairs… the one with the bear border… it was mine wasn't it?"

"Yes." He says roughly.

"And the other was K-katie—"

"Kelly." He corrects her.

"I'm sorry." She quickly adds. There is awkward silence before she asks what has been bothering her since he first told her of the DNA results.

"What does all this mean? What do you expect from me?"

"Calleigh, I don't expect anything—"

"I didn't mean it to sound like that. I just don't know what all this brings." She adds sheepishly.

"I'm not going to lie… I want to know you. Calleigh. You're the only family I have left, and I want you to know me, and your mother, and Kelly." He almost chokes as he says her name.

"And what about my dad. Colonel Weisz, I mean. What will happen to him?" She asked honestly.

He looks at her intently, but can't bring himself to tell her what he really wants to do to the man who destroyed the last part of his world so many years ago. Instead, he just tells her a lie.

"I don't know."

"I think you do… I can't, won't help you find him… I can't… I know he did wrong, but—"

"No one expects you to do anything you don't want when it comes to this."

"Can we finish looking at these another time, please." She says, changing the subject to the pictures.

"Of course. Anytime." He answers. She stands and walks into the living room. He hesitates and then follows her.

"So, you and Ziva are together, huh?" She says as she turns around to face him.

He scratches his head, flings his arms up into the air, and grins sheepishly.

"So, she knows then… about everything." She states and he nods his affirmation. "Great. And McGee and Tony? They know too."

"No. No one knows but Ziva, you and me."

"That's good. I don't know if they should know yet or should they. I mean, maybe we could give this all a little time to kind of sink in or something… I don't know. What do you think?" She starts pacing around his living room. She's having a hard time processing all the information.

"We can wait… They don't have to know anything Cal if you don't want them to." She stops when he calls her that. She's been called that by people all her life, but the way he said it. His voice. She remembered him. The memory was faint and quick, but he was teaching her how to swim. She remembered him tell her to kick her feet while he held her above water.

"You taught me to swim."

"Yes, yes I did. You were almost six. You took to the water like a fish." He smiled at the memory. "I don't know why we waited so long to teach you."

"I—I should go. I need to get some fresh air, and I have some stuff I have to do." She rushed to get all of her sentence out. Her emotions were hitting her like a whirlwind. Gibbs felt as though she was telling him goodbye for the last time, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Then she spoke again. "Maybe we could talk more, and go out to eat or something… to get to know each other better."

"I'd like that." He said, like an idiot.

"Just give me a couple days… to process everything. I really do want to know… know you and Shannon and Kelly." And with that she walked over to him and hugged him tenderly and he returned her hug. She then quickly released him, grabbed her keys from the hook by the door, and walked out. Her tears were streaming down her face before she made it to her car. Once inside of the safe refuge she rested her head on the steering wheel for a moment before cranking the car, and returning home.

**MEANWHILE AT GIBBS' HOUSE**

Gibbs sits down on the sofa almost in shock of the whole situation. He had known it was going to be strange, but the magnitude of everything suddenly began sinking in. Ziva slowly made her way down the staircase after hearing the door shut. She knew this was all hard for him and would imagine it was even harder for Calleigh. She sits down next to him, but he doesn't even acknowledge her. He is too consumed by the anger raging in him to find the man responsible for all of this unnecessary pain. He was happy to have his daughter back, but at the same time he knew he was destroying her world as she knew it and that alone was killing him. He wanted to be a family again, but he doesn't even know if that is possible or if she would even want that. Ziva slowly reaches out and takes his hand in hers. He looks at her and suddenly feels once again guilty for the things he'd said to her the night before. She looks back at him with a deep sense of caring in her eyes, and he can't help but lean in and kiss her gently before trying to deepen the kiss. She pulls away from him when he tries. _What now? He thinks._

"You are upset. And I don't want to take advantage of you." She says convincingly. He rolls his eyes. "Besides, Gibbs—"

"Stop, with the Gibbs thing." He says as he rises and steps up in front of her. "Please, while we're at home." He says as he gently brushes a stray hair out of her face.

"I think you really need to make up your mind about how you feel about us—you and I—one day you feel one way and the next the opposite. I do not know which to believe."

"I said I was sorry. What else do you want me to say?" He asks her even though he knows what she wants him to say and what he should say because he knows it's true. He loves her, not exactly like he'd loved Shannon, but with the same intensity.

"I want you to say how you feel. It's been months, and. I do not expect much but something. I want to know I matter to you."

"You do matter to me. You know that." He replied almost automatically although he knew it was only going to make things worse.

"Would you say we are a couple? Yes or no?" She couldn't help but ask.

He only stood there and looked at her. His heart screamed for him to say yes and tell her he loved her, but his head told him otherwise. No was all he could think of saying. No would mean it didn't have to get any more complicated. Things at work would not be awkward, and in the long run she would not be hurt. But no would mean the end to all they had. The end to all the little moments and stolen nights. No would mean the end of them. So he did what he always does. He said nothing.

Ziva waited for his answer to come. She was hoping/praying it would be yes. All she wanted was some kind of acknowledgement and not while in the bedroom. She wanted to simply feel important to him. She wanted to go to a movie or to dinner and be able to simply enjoy each other's company, and no longer feel as though they were doing something wrong and having to hide away. But his answer never came. So she leaned forward and took his face with both her hands and kissed his lips one last time before walking out the door.

He stood there dumbfounded as he watched her walk out the door. All the thoughts swirling through his head almost made him physically ill. He contemplated going after her or at least calling her, but something held him back. _Maybe it's for the best. _He thought. However, at the same time he felt his heart break in a way that he'd only felt once before.

Hours passed and, as usual, he worked on his boat. While it seemed to be a never-ending process, he loved it and used as an escape from all of the day's trials. However, on this day it seemed to do nothing, but infuriate him even more. The day had started so well. He couldn't see how he allowed it to end so badly.

He grabs the bourbon and drank heartedly from the bottle trying to alleviate the pain he felt only to find that he felt like crying. His pain is unbearable. The first blow to boat's frame caused his fist to burn from the impact. The second made his adrenaline rush. The blows and kicks that followed made his blood boil until finally there was nothing left. Nothing was left to hit or knock. He had broken every spine to the frame he had been working on so diligently. The pieces lay broken on the floor. His hands ached and bled from his knuckles, the hammer he used when his hands had become too sore lay discarded on the floor. His leg muscles thumped under his skin as the soreness began setting in. He looks at the disheveled mess of wood that is left covering the basement floor and gives it one more kick with his foot, but finds it lacking the velocity from before. In some backward way he feels better.

** GIBBS' HOUSE- THE NEXT MORNING**

Gibbs awoke to find his body sore in places he'd forgotten he had. With every move his muscles seemed to scream out in pain. He contemplates calling in sick, but quickly decides against it. He sits up in bed and feels the shooting pain in his left wrist. He rubs it with his other hand, but the pain doesn't ease. _Great. He thinks._ His hands are swollen a little from his activities from the night before, but he knows his wrist needs medical attention.

** NCIS HEADQUATERS- FOUR HOURS LATER**

The team all sit at their respective desks with one exception. Gibbs still hasn't come into work. Tony keeps looking back and forth between Ziva and McGee. Both of them have noticed his gaze, but refuse to acknowledge him. Finally, he zones in on Ziva alone. His stare is unyielding. Minutes pass and he continues to look only at her. She looks up at him from her paperwork, her frustration evident.

"What?" She asks angrily.

"I think you should call him." Tony states as if it's the obvious thing.

"Why me? You call him." She replies matter-of-factly. Truth be told she wanted to call him more than anything just to ensure he was alright, but she knew better. She knew her resolve would crumble if she attempted to contact him about anything that wasn't absolutely necessary.

"I called him the last time."

"You did not. That was McGee." She says.

He scoffs at her for implying he is lying.

"Uh, no—" Tony starts, but is interrupted by McGee.

"Actually Tony it was me."

"Whatever, McBrain. (to Ziva) That still doesn't mean you shouldn't call." He says.

"It doesn't mean you shouldn't either."

"I'm the senior agent." He replies, sure of victory.

"I do not care." She states firmly.

"Guys, I'm sure he's fine." McGee begins but stops as he sees Director Vance on the staircase.

"Where's Gibbs?" Vance asks to no one in particular.

"He's uh, uh—" McGee starts.

"Gone for coffee. You know him." Tony interjects, smiling broadly.

"When he gets back tell him I need to speak to him." Vance states before walking back up the stairs.

"Will do." Tony adds before turning back around to Ziva and McGee.

"What do you think that's all about?" McGee asks.

Before anyone can answer his question the elevator dings and out steps Gibbs. They all turn to look at him as he enters the bull pen. For the most part he looks none the worse for wear. A little dark under the eyes perhaps, but nothing too obvious. In his right hand he holds his coffee while his left is raised and held gently by his side. His coat hides the cast that resides there; however, nothing hides his bruised knuckles. He sits behind his desk as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Ziva barely glances at him, but she notices something is amiss. Tony and McGee both gawk at him for a moment before McGee looks away and back at his computer.

"Uh, boss. You okay?" Tony braves to ask.

"Yeah, why?" Gibbs replies coolly.

"You just look a little dinged up there."

"Do I have to give you an account of my weekend, DiNozzo?" He says in his most intimidating way.

"Uh, no, boss."

"Boss,--" McGee begins.

"What McGee?" Gibbs snaps.

"I, uh, was just going to tell you the director wants to see you."

"Well, why didn't you say that." He quips. Gibbs stands and head up to the director's office. No one has noticed his cast yet.

"Wonder what has his panties in a twist." Tony says as he goes to the filing cabinet, but then makes a detour to McGee's desk.

"So, you and Calleigh have a nice time the other night?"

"Tony, that's none of your business."

"C'mon, probie, I practically gave her to you." Tony says.

"You gave her to me? She's not some kind of object. But yes, we had a nice time."

He playfully punches McGee on the shoulder.

"Way to go Probie. Tell me everything. I want to know all the details."

"No, Tony. I'm not going to talk about her like that."

"That bad, huh?"

"No, I—" McGee stops mid-sentence and returns to his work. Tony freezes on the spot. Gibbs head slaps him.

"Thank you, boss." He turns and heads back to his desk. Gibbs does the same. Gibbs types a few words on his computer with his good hand before looking up at his team. McGee is busy doing 'God knows what' on his computer, DiNozzo is sitting with his face propped up on his hand, and Ziva he doesn't even want to look at. So he focuses his attention on DiNozzo.

"DiNozzo, get to work."

"I—I—on it." He stands and goes to the filing cabinet and pulls an old cold case file out. He returns to his desk and begins reading. Gibbs' attention goes back to his computer screen. He runs his hand over his face in frustration. He then writes a name on a post-it and stands. Ziva and DiNozzo await his call for them to follow. He never acknowledges his injured hand or the bruises on his knuckles. Ziva watches him as he walks past. Every part of her wanted to run to him and see that he was really okay, but she didn't. She just watched as he made his way to the elevator.

"McGee, you're with me." Gibbs says as he walks toward the elevator. McGee begins to grab his gear. "You don't need it." Gibb says. McGee hurries to the elevator where Gibbs awaits. The doors ding and the doors open. They step inside and the doors close. It begins moving and Gibbs hits the emergency stop button. He turns to McGee who is a little confused.

"I need you to do something for me, and it stay between us."

"Anything you need boss." McGee replies confidently.

"I need a number and address to go with this name." He says as he hands McGee the post-it.

"It might take a while, but you got it."

"Thanks, McGee." He says as he flips the switch back on.

"Boss… Are you okay?" McGee asks timidly. Gibbs considers telling him to piss off, but doesn't because he knows McGee's concern is sincere.

"Fine, Tim." Is all he says as he turns to face the doors. Finally they reach the bullpen once more. McGee heads directly to his desk and begins his work. Gibbs goes to his desk, but is just as unenthused with the cold case file in front of him as the others are with their own. He chances a glance toward Ziva and finds her focusing a bit too hard on the file on her desk. He admires her for a moment before realizing it, and then he silently berates himself for both admiring her at work and letting her walk away. Silently he also wonders why she hasn't asked about his injuries. In fact, she is the only one who hasn't, but knowing her she was probably the first to notice them. Just then Ziva's phone rang.

"Officer David." She answers. A smile covers her face as the other person speaks. Gibbs sees her smile at the person on the line, and so does Tony. She notices Tony watching her so she lowers her voice as she speaks.

"Yes, I've been waiting on your call." She says. Gibbs pretends he isn't listening but he's hearing every word she says. _Who is that? He wonders._ But at the same time he realizes he no longer has any claim to her so he tries to act uninterested.

"I am at work, I cannot just leave." She says. There is a pause where the person on the line is speaking. Tony is practically salivating at the conversation. His mind is whirling with questions and remarks.

"That would be nice. I will see you there in an hour. Alright?" She says into the receiver before waiting a moment and then hanging up. Tony pounces at her as soon as she does.

"Lunch date?" He asks.

"Perhaps."

"So, who is he? Does he work here? CIA? FBI?" He probes but she doesn't answer. She is too worried about what Gibbs must be thinking, but before she can even look his way she hears him shuffling things in his desk before he stands and mutters that he's going for coffee. He then disappears.

"C'mon, we're friends aren't we?" He says.

"It is a friend from back home and he just got into town." She replies before standing and walking to the ladies room.

"Why does everyone keep doin' me that way?" Tony asks aloud.

"Maybe because it's none of your business." McGee answers.

"I'm an investigator. Everything's my business." Tony retorts. He looks back at his desk and the file that he's not really working on. "I'm goin' to get lunch. Keep working. I'll bring you something back." Tony says and then makes his way to the elevator. He hits the button and the doors quickly ding and open. Gibbs stands there coffee in hand.

"Oh, hey boss. I'm goin' to grab lunch. You want anything?" Tony asks. Gibbs doesn't reply. "Right, well if you change your mind…" Tony shuts up as Gibbs stares at him. Gibbs exits the elevator and goes back to his desk.

Ziva is at her desk collecting her purse and coat.

"I am going to lunch. Be back in an hour." She reports to Gibbs as he walks past her desk.

** SMALL CAFÉ IN GEORGETOWN**

Ziva enters the café and scopes the room. It's a very quaint little establishment with colorful walls and several small modern tables. A place that, at the right hour, would easily be packed with people searching for their early morning caffeine fix. However, now there were only a few occupied tables and a young gangly looking teenager working behind the counter. She chooses a table and sits down. Moments later the door dings as someone else enters. She looks up and smiles at the newcomer. The man walks over to her. He is extremely handsome. He has dark skin and hair and is wearing a grey suit with a blue shirt and no tie. He is tall and has a muscular frame. He sits down across from her.

"Shalom, Ziva." He says.

"Shalom, Sam. It has been a long time." She replies.

"Too long, as some would say." He says as he smiles back at her.

"It's true, I have missed you, but why I do not know." She tells him with a smile on her face. He smiles back at her.

"Can I get you some food? Are you hungry?" He asks her.

"No, thank you… I… what are you doing here?" She finally says.

"Straight to the point, as always." He says as he waves his hands about.

"I did not mean to sound unhappy to see you, but you are a long way from home Sam, and I know the type of work you do."

"Relax, Ziva. I am not here to cause any harm. I am here to… well let's call it a vacation of sorts."

"And you just happened to choose here?" She asks, not believing his story. He laughs a little at her disbelief and reaches out to take her coffee cup from in front of her.

"No, no. That was no accident. Your father told me to come here. And how to contact you." Now it was her turn to laugh.

"And why would he want to do that?"

"I don't know, perhaps he thought we could pick things up where we left off." He says shyly.

"It has been a long time, Samuel. I do not—" She begins to speak but he interrupts her.

"Enough of this talk. Let's talk of something else. Now, where can I find a good place to stay around here? Hmm?" He asks as if nothing awkward had ever been said. "Do you think I could maybe stay with you for a couple of days until I can find somewhere else, and maybe you could show me the sites? I hear there is a lot to see here." He looks at her expectantly, and she looks him directly in the eyes. "Ziva, I have no expectations on this trip, I assure you."

"Alright, fine, but only for a couple of nights and you must occupy yourself elsewhere while I am at work." She finally relents.

"Sounds good to me. Now let's catch up shall we?" He tells her.

** NCIS HQ- LATER**

Tony walks in in a much better mood than before.

"Alright, burritos all around." He says as he tosses one to McGee and then another to Gibbs who catches it without looking. Tony sits at his desk and pulls two out of the bag for himself.

"So anybody heard from Ziva?" Tony asks.

"McGee status report?" Gibbs barks.

"Well, boss it's kind of complicated. I have three different addresses and four different numbers. And they're all active. I mean he receives mail at all of them and calls are—"

"I get it McGee."

"What'd I miss? I got back here as fast as I could. Did we get a call?" Tony whines.

"No." Is all Gibbs says. He takes the slip of paper from McGee's hand pokes it into his jacket pocket. McGee promptly goes back to his desk and begins devouring his burrito. Gibbs does the same. The elevator dings and off steps Ziva. She walks up to Tony's desk first and takes his extra burrito, and before he can say anything takes a bite. Tony finishes the bite he is chewing and then starts in.

"Ah, ha." He says.

"What?" She says innocently.

"You met someone for lunch and instead of eating you went and—"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs says in a ruff voice as he throws his burrito in the trash.

"Shutting up, boss." Tony returns to his lunch. Ziva turns to Gibbs and can see his mind churning at what DiNozzo just suggested.

"Gibbs, it wasn't like that."

"What you do on your time is not my business." He responds coldly, but she can see that he's hurting.

The rest of the day went along with relative silence and no calls to keep them busy. For the most part everyone was quite bored. Gibbs was debating on how to find Weisz with the information McGee had given him. Ziva desperately wanted to explain things to Gibbs about lunch. McGee wanted to see Calleigh. DiNozzo just wanted to see anything other than the walls of NCIS and the file he'd had all day.

"Go home, everyone." Gibbs says as he rises and pulls on his coat. He struggles a bit with the cast and his achy muscles. Everyone else just stares at him. It's still far earlier than the usual hour that they end the work day, but no one seemed to care. Ziva was the first to have all of her things ready to go, and she managed to stop the doors of the elevator from closing. She steps in next to Gibbs who seems less than enthused. They start to descend and she sighs.

"Something you want to say Officer David?" Gibbs asks.

"No." She flips the switch on the elevator. "Yes." She says but doesn't continue.

"Am I supposed to say something here?"

"Nothing happened… at lunch… nothing happened."

"I didn't ask." He states.

"Yes, but Tony implied that…well. I didn't want you to think, nevermind." She says but doesn't flip the emergency switch to restart the elevator.

"Was there something else?" He asks.

"What happened?" She says indicating his broken wrist and bruised knuckles.

"Why do you care?" He says but immediately regrets being to harsh. She immediately flips the switch and the elevator quickly descends the remaining floors. "Ziva, I—" He is cut off by the doors opening to reveal there destination. Ziva quickly walks away leaving him feeling like an ass as usual.

** ZIVA'S APARTMENT—LATER**

Ziva arrives at her apartment only to be met by Samuel, who sits on the steps of her building with his bags next to him. Ziva looks him over, still wary of his intentions, but realizes that in many ways she does still admire him. He's very handsome and has a confidence about him that makes him intoxicating just to be around. Still, she didn't know why she felt so compelled to say yes when he asked her for a place to stay. All she knows is that she owes him that much after their past together. She walks up to him and takes one of his smaller bags, he stands and follows her into the building and up the stairs to her apartment.

Once inside, she makes her way to her spare bedroom and deposits his bag onto the bed.

"This will be your room." She states. "Follow me and I will show you where everything is." She briskly walks out of the room and he follows her after dropping the bags to the floor. She shows him the spare bathroom and where the toiletries were, and then she proceeded to show him the kitchen and she assumed the living room was obvious.

"And where is your room?" He asked her.

"My room is off limits to you at all times. Understood?" She says curtly.

"Of course. It was just a question. Besides that wasn't always so." He says as he smiles at her. She turns and goes into the kitchen and begins cooking them a meal.

"Ziva, dear, you must really learn to relax a bit. You're too uptight." Samuel says as he sits on her sofa. He looks around the place. It is a nice size apartment and very well decorated to his surprise. Her taste in art was a little to eclectic in his opinion, but it's of little consequence. Her bookshelf is full of books in several different languages. The television is on the wall above the fireplace. The coffee table is bare except for the remotes, and the only picture in room was one of a small group of people.

"Ziva. Who are these people in the photograph?" He yells.

She looks around the corner and sees what he's talking about.

"Friends." She yells back before continuing her meal preparations. He places the photograph back on the end table. He turns on the television and watches the news, unenthused by what he hears. Ziva finishes up fixing the meal in the kitchen.

A knock at the door.

Samuel turns the television down and goes to the door, and opens it. He comes face to face with Gibbs. Gibbs has to quickly adjust his face to cover both his anger and confusion, not to mention the hurt he felt. Samuel recognizes him from the photo.

"Can I help you?" Samuel asks politely.

"I was just—I just stopped by to speak with Ziva." He answers honestly.

"Is something wrong? How did you get in the locked door?" He asks. From behind him Ziva is heard calling him to dinner. He doesn't respond to her.

"Someone let me in, and no nothing's wrong." Gibbs replies feeling ambushed by all the questions. _Who is this guy anyway? He thinks._ "I'm sorry, what's your name again?"

"My apologies. Samuel Ali. Please come in. We were just about to eat." He says seemingly over polite. Samuel steps aside and Gibbs enters the apartment he'd been in thousands of times, but where he suddenly felt like an intruder. He looks the man over. _He's better suited for her. Closer in age, everything. But what the hell it hasn't even been a week for goodness sake. He thinks. _

Ziva walks out of the dining room and into the living room where the door in and she freezes when she sees him. _This cannot be happening. Why is he here? He must think that Samuel is here with me. How can I convince him he isn't and that he's just a friend. She thinks all at once as her mind overwhelms her._

"Ziva, dear, it appears we have a guest." Samuel says. Gibbs wants to hit him for using an endearing term with her.

"Do not call me that. Gibbs?" She says as an awkward moment passes where no one says anything. _This was such a mistake. Gibbs thinks._

"We need to talk." He says tentatively as he looks directly at her.

"Fine." She says before turning and heading to her room. He follows her and doesn't look back to see if it bothers Samuel. She enters her room and he follows. She sits down on the bed to await the onslaught of accusations that she knew was about to come, and she knew she deserved. Instead he just stood there looking at her for a moment still cradling his broken wrist next to his side. Moments later he spoke.

"I broke my wrist working on the boat last night, and I'm sorry if I was rude to you at work. It was unprofessional of me, and it won't happen anymore."

She didn't know what to do. She was completely thrown off by what he had just said. She expected him to reprimand her for her childish actions earlier and question her about the man in the next room, but he didn't and now she was confused. So she doesn't say anything. He takes a moment because he knows what he's about to say is going to be difficult.

"Listen, I'm probably going to be going away so—" He begins but she cuts him off.

"Where are you going?" She finally asks looking directly at him.

"Down south for a few days maybe more." He answers. Ziva gets visibly antsy. She starts looking around the room avoiding eye contact with him. She notices something under the bedside lamp. She stands and moves to the lamp.

"When?" She asks. He follows her with his eyes as she goes to the lamp and lifts it gently. She looks at the small device sitting under the lamp. "A bug" she mouths to him but doesn't say aloud. He nods and continues their conversation.

"Soon as my leave's approved." He informs her. He walks around the room as they both look for any well hidden devices. They find three more before deciding the room is clean. They continue their conversation while they look for a place to put the bugs. Gibbs picks up a jewelry box off of the dresser. He opens it and removes the bracelet he'd bought for her a few months back. She places the bugs inside and he closes it.

"Why?" She asks but he doesn't immediately answer. He pockets the box. "Is it because of me?" Before he can answer Samuel calls for her because the food is getting cold.

"I should go. I shouldn't have come. I thought you'd be alone." He says sheepishly, but honestly before pulling out a pen and a business card from his pocket. He scribbles something on the back and hands it to her. She nods her affirmation after reading it. _It says that he is going to take them to Abbey in the morning._ He turns to leave.

"Gibbs." He stops and turns to her. "I'm not—" He cuts her off before she can even finish telling him about Samuel.

"You don't have to explain anything to me, Ziva." Is all he says even though he doesn't believe it anymore than she does. He pulls out the key to her apartment, which was his initial reason for coming by, from his jean pocket and he hands it to her. He leaves before she can say anything about it. She puts the key in her pocket and waits to recompose herself because she wants to cry.

Ziva soon returns to her dinner and picks at it more than she eats it. Samuel jokes with her, and she acts like she is enjoying herself. She can feel the key in her pocket and it is like a burning knife stabbing at her. She knows she has to make up an excuse to leave, but what would be a logical reason for leaving at this time of night. So instead she tells him the only thing that would make sense for her to do or at least what he thinks she would do. She tells him she is going to go for a long run to work off the stress of the day. He insists on going with her, but she tells him she really wants to work some stuff out in her head. So, he buys it or at least she hopes he does. She quickly changes into her running clothes and locks her bedroom door before making her way to the front door and leaving.

GIBBS' HOUSE— LATER

Gibbs lies in bed trying to force the sleep to come so he would no longer be forced to listen to his own thoughts as they played in a constant loop in his mind. All the questions about who that man was and how she could move on so quickly or maybe she didn't and he has been there all along. Not to mention his growing concern about who would have planted bugs in Ziva's apartment much less her bedroom. The questions just go on and on until all he wants to do is sleep and make them go away. However, his late night habit of working on the boat makes it impossible for him to find sleep this early when he's so used to working on the boat until it is truly late or early as some might say. Now, he didn't even want to go into his basement because he knew the remnants of his anger were there to once again stare him in the face.

He hears his bedroom door creak as someone steps inside his room. Instinctively he grabs his gun from his nightstand and points it at the intruder. With his other hand he turns on the lamp without ever taking his eyes off the person in question.

"Ziva?" He says or sighs more or less as he lowers his weapon and places it back on the nightstand. "I almost shot you." He yells at her. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I believe I am being targeted." She states as if it is nothing unusual. Gibbs' stomach churns at her words he sits up on the bed to listen to her. She stands with her back against the now closed door. "The man at my apartment—" She begins but Gibbs holds up his hand to stop her.

"I'll protect you." He says without even hearing anymore. In fact, he doesn't want to hear more because then he might find out that he's been her lover or boyfriend or whatever. She walks over and climbs up on the bed next to him. She looks him in the eyes and forces him to listen to her.

"Jethro, please." She whispers. _Ah damn, now I have to listen. He thinks._ "The man at my apartment, Samuel Hasam, he works for my father. He's like my father's personal cleaner of sorts. Anyone who my father thinks has wronged him or gone rogue or anything. He takes care of them."

"Are you sleeping with him?" The question comes out as he thinks it. He doesn't even have time to stop himself from asking it, and to be honest he doesn't want to know the answer. There is an awkward silence.

"No. And I cannot believe you just asked me that." She is offended.

"So you haven't slept with him 'cause he seemed awful cozy to me." Gibbs finally says allowing his jealousy to take over his mind. Ziva doesn't answer him because she knows the truth and now so does he. Her inability to answer gave him all the answer he needed. He stands and pulls on his pants over his boxers and rushes out the door. She quickly follows.

"Gibbs, it was a long time ago before you and I ever even met." He stops at the bottom of the stairs. _How can I be mad at her for having a past? Why am I so jealous? This is ridiculous. He thinks._ He looks at her as she comes to a halt in front of him.

"Then why is he staying with you?" He says in barely a whisper.

"That is what I am trying to tell you, if you would listen. Why are you acting this way?" She almost screams at him.

"I don't know!" He yells as he takes a few steps away from her. "I just—I feel like everything's falling apart just when I was finally getting it together again." The words pour out of him. He is exasperated, but at the same time he feels better after telling her the truth. He turns to her. "I just thought we were happy." He finally admits.

"We were happy." She says.

"So why isn't that enough?" He asks.

"Because. I want you to want to do things with me and I mean outside in the real world, in front of other people, and not care who sees. I want people to know that you are mine and that I am yours. To know we are together, and not that you are just my boss or that we are having a business meeting over lunch. If we are going to be together then I want to be together at all times and not just when we are alone." She explodes with all of this information, silent tears make their way down her face, this hits him like a ton of stones.

It was true. In all the months they had been dating he had never once let on that they were an item while out in public. They spent nights watching movies or cooking or eating take out, but they never went on typical dates. He had always been afraid of being seen by others from work, but now when he thought about it it just seemed ridiculous. Why should he be ashamed of being with her? There were no official rules prohibiting it, only his rule.

"At work, I'm still your boss." He says calmly.

"And when we are at work is the only time when you are not ashamed to be with me." She says matter-of-factly.

"Ziva, I've never been ashamed of you. I just didn't want to hurt you, and I knew if things got more serious something bad would happen because it happens every time I--."

"I love you. How much more serious could it be?" She cuts him off in desperation as her tears continue to slide down her cheeks. "And if work is really what is keeping you from being with me in public then I quit. I will fill out a formal resignation in the morning."

He's speechless. She just stares him in the eyes. She's dead serious. Finally, he says

"Maybe we should figure out who's targeting you first and why." She relents and moves to the couch where she wipes her face and proceeds to tell him the situation.

"I believe my father sent Samuel here for me."

"Why would he do that and what'd you mean sent him for you?"

"Samuel and I grew up together. We were together when we were very young. My father encouraged the match because his family is very well connected and it would have been a very good move politically." She begins. Gibbs obviously doesn't like what he hears but doesn't stop her. She continues:

"My father gave him a job working closely with him. He became a protégé in a way. My father was certain we would be married, but it wasn't meant to be."

"What happened?" He asked.

"His job. Like I said, he cleans everything up for my father. Every affair, every accident, everything. Until I could not take it anymore and I ended it. My father was furious, but he always thought we could mend things."

"Is that why he sent him here? What about the bugs?"

"Samuel is acting like it is the reason, but I know him and he's lying. He must have planted those."

"But why Ziva? What could you have done here?"

"There is only two reasons I can think of why my father would send someone after me. Ari or…you."

"Me?"

"Yes." She doesn't look him in the eye as she continues. "My father would never have approved of you. Because of Ari among other things, and he told me to keep myself at a distance until the time was right."

"Right for what?" He asks but already knows the answer.

"He wanted me to kill you. To avenge Ari."

"Why didn't you ever tell me any of this?"

"How was I supposed to do that Gibbs. You would have never trusted me and even worse you would have hated me. I knew I would never do it, and my father must have found out."

"Ziva there is no way he knows about Ari. You and I are the only two people who know the truth."

"But we have discussed it many times." She said. He thought for a moment and she was right. They had discussed it several times while talking in bed. Mostly, it came up while they were in her home because of photographs that brought up the subject.

"Gibbs, we don't know how long those bugs have been there."

"But why would he bug your apartment?"

"He has had surveillance on me before, when he thought I was having an affair with Tony while you were in Mexico." She told him. He looked at her strangely. "The photos looked more damning than they really were. In fact, he watches many of his agents at times to ensure they have not gone rogue and that they have the best interests."

"And by that you mean his interests?"

"Precisely."

"What will he do?" He asks although he's afraid to hear the answer.

"For being with you he will have me deported back to Israel. Once I am there he will have me tried for treason and for Ari's death or what will be called murder, and I will be sentenced."

"You didn't murder him, Ziva. You did the right thing."

"I know that, but my father will not see it that way."

"Then quit. Quit Mossad and just stay here. He can't control you if you don't work for him." He says.

"You don't just quit Mossad. Besides it would not solve anything. He would still have me brought home and tried. And if I tried to stay here he would just send more people after me."

"Do you think this Samuel is really here to kill you?"

"I do not know. It has been a long time. Back then I would have said no, but now maybe. He is here for a reason and I know it has something to do with me or he would not have insisted on staying in my apartment."

"You can't go back there."

"I have to or he will know I know he is up to something."

"Don't you think he's gonna know that when he doesn't hear anything coming from your room. Stop acting like you have to do this alone—"

"I am not acting like I have to do it alone. That's why I am here, and to make sure you knew to be careful… If I am a target then the chances are you may be too. The order may have gone to someone else who will do the job."

"We have to get help."

"No, they will kill anyone who stands in their way. I know. I would have done the same thing before I came here."

"Ziva, we can't face this without backup. It's too much for anyone." He tells her. She considers what he says and then realizes how long she has been gone.

"I have to go. I only said I was going for a long run. He will know."

"You don't know that he doesn't already know. You're staying here. I'll call the others. It's not a debate." He says determinedly. She relents and he begins making the necessary phone calls. Soon he is finished and both Tony and McGee are on their way to his home. Suddenly Ziva thinks of another very important detail.

"Jethro." He turns to her. "We are trained to do anything to acquire our targets… they will not only go after us, but any family as well." Gibbs realizes what she is saying and he begins dialing Calleigh's number frantically. No answer. He has to call three more times before she finally picks up. All he tells her to do is pack a bag as quickly as possible and come to his house and that he will explain everything else when she arrives. Tony is the first to arrive. He is obviously sleepy and has a backpack over one shoulder and another bag in his hand. McGee soon arrives in much the same state. Calleigh finally arrives, but unlike the others she looks as perky as she would at two in the afternoon. Everyone looks at her funny.

"I was cleaning."

"You were cleaning at midnight?" Tony asks, shocked.

"Yeah, it wears me down so when I get to sleep, I actually sleep." She admits. Gibbs smiles at her admission. He does the same thing with his boats.

"Alright listen up." Gibbs says as he retells the situation to the team leaving out certain intimate details of his relationship with Ziva because in all honesty he doesn't even know what they were at the moment. "Now, we need to work in shifts throughout the night. In the morning, we will apprise Vance of the situation so we can officially handle it, but until then we sleep in shifts. Now our main focus is to make sure Ziva and Calleigh are safe at all times. Understood?"

"Gibbs." Both Calleigh and Ziva complain in unison.

"It's not up for discussion." Tony says before Gibbs has any opportunity. "McGee and I'll take the first shift. Wake you up in three hours boss." He says without discussing it with McGee.

For a moment everyone just sits in the living room. No one acknowledges Gibbs' injured arm. Ziva is uncomfortable because she doesn't know where her relationship with Gibbs stands at the moment so she doesn't know how to act with the others around. Calleigh doesn't know if she is supposed to go somewhere else to sleep or sleep in the chair she is sitting in. Finally, Gibbs stands and gives McGee and Tony some final instructions before addressing Calleigh and Ziva.

"Well, c'mon. I'll show you where to sleep." He says as if he's stating the obvious. They stand and follow him upstairs. He takes Calleigh to the guest room first.

"The sheets are clean and if you get cold there's more blankets in the closet."

"Thanks. And you don't have to protect me. I'm a big girl you know."

"Humor me. I should've done a better job be—" She cuts him off by hugging him.

"It wasn't you're fault." She whispers in his ear. "G'night." She says as she slips into the room and closes the door. He then turns to Ziva and walks to his room. He enters. She hesitates outside in the hallway. He'd thought she was behind him as he entered the door, but when he realized she wasn't he stuck his head out the door.

"Are you coming in or what?" He asks her. She steps inside the door and closes it. He walks over to the bed and straightens the covers on the bed. She watches him from the door. "You can have the bed. I'll sleep on the couch in the den." He tells her grabbing a pillow and walking to the door where she stands. She doesn't move. He looks at her.

"Uhm… that's my pillow" She tells him.

"Sorry." He turns and goes back to the bed. He tosses the pillow back on the bed and grabs the other one.

"You don't have to sleep down there if you don't want to." She tells him.

"I don't want to make anything any more awkward."

"It won't be the first time I have shared a bed with you." She whispers to him. He smirks.

"Well. Yeah." He says still grinning and looking down at her. She kisses him and pushes him back on the bed. She then walks around to her side of the bed and climbs in. He lies back on the bed. "We're here to sleep David. I'm not gonna be fighting you off for three hours."

She rolls over and props herself up on his chest. "You could only be so lucky.'

**Meanwhile**, in the other room Calleigh is busy creating a human like figure on the bed with the extra blankets. Once she is satisfied, she grabs the pillow she didn't use and steps inside the closet with her weapons. She props herself up against the wall using the pillow as a cushion. She relaxes and closes her eyes.

**Meanwhile**, downstairs. Tony and McGee have just finished doing a round checking out every window and going through the house. They meet up in the living room.

So, what'd you think they're doin' up there?" Tony asks.

"Tony, I doubt they're doing anything considering the situation."

"I don't know probie."

"C'mon. Gibbs?... Besides you slept in the same bed with her and nothing happened."

"How do you know nothing happened? She say nothing happened?"

"Tony. I'm not an idiot and neither is she."

"Hey!" Tony says acting hurt. "Keep an eye out. I'm going to see what's in the fridge."

The night drags on and just before the time arrives to relieve McGee and DiNozzo glass is heard shattering upstairs.

**Meanwhile, **Calleigh's room. Calleigh is resting in the closet when the two windows flanking the bed in the bedroom shatter and two men enter the room. She wakes silently and does her best to remain calm. One of the men peeks out the door only to see Tony and McGee talking while the other man checks the sleeping form on the bed.

**Meanwhile, **down stairs. Tony and McGee run upstairs. They are met at the top of the stairs by Gibbs and Ziva who are rushing from their room.

**Meanwhile, **Calleigh's room. Calleigh aims her weapon at the man at the bed, from just inside the closet door. The men converse in another language that Calleigh doesn't understand. The man jerks the covers back to discover the covers and pillows. He turns and sees her. She fires two shots at him from near point blank range. He falls. The door bursts open. The remaining man fires a shot at Calleigh, but misses because he was temporarily distracted by the door being kicked open. Calleigh fires at him. He falls to the floor. Calleigh snaps a picture of the first man with her cell phone and then walks over to where the other man lies on the floor bleeding. He says something to her in another language. She just looks at him for a moment. Gibbs and DiNozzo enter the room guns raised. The man's hand falls to the floor and a grenade rolls onto the floor. Gibbs shoves DiNozzo out the door and knocks Ziva down. At the same time, Calleigh runs and dives back into the closet as the explosion occurs. Debris is sent flying through the air as the room is demolished.

Precious minutes pass while everyone waits for the smoke and debris to settle. The minutes seem like hours and no ones dares to say anything. Calleigh was still in the room when the explosion occurred. Tony is on the phone with a 911 operator and is yelling because he can't hear clearly from the explosion. Finally, the room is clear enough for them to enter. It is hard to distinguish anything from the rubble. Gibbs tries not to think about the possibilities, but can't stop himself. The room isn't very large and the likelihood of her survival is slim. There is still no talking as each of the investigators take in their surroundings. Two masses are on the now fragile floor. One of them is partially disfigured while the other is merely strewn across the floor. Ziva lifts the mangled persons head, which is barely connected now.

"It's not her Gibbs." She says.

"You sure?" Tony asks as he walks to her.

"Positive, small tattoo under the cheek bone." She informs him as she turns the man's head so Tony can see for himself.

Gibbs walks over to the second body. He pauses momentarily. The smoke and ash has completely covered everything including the body which makes him uncertain of the identity. His ears are ringing. He feels like his lungs are burning as they tighten in his chest. His hands are shaking. He wills himself to kneel and check to see if it's her, but he cannot. He suddenly feels like he did so many years ago when he didn't have the courage to look at her young face after he was told of her death. This time she was so close to him and yet he still let her down. His inner struggle continues. McGee is on the phone with NCIS informing them of the attack and asking for backup. He trips as he walks past the blown down closet door. He drops his phone in the process. As he reaches for it he sees a blackened bare foot sticking out from under some debris. He crawls over and pushes the debris out of the way. Calleigh is laying on the floor unconscious.

"Boss!" McGee screams as he checks for a pulse. Gibbs stands from his kneeling position, just before touching the body, and runs to him with his gun raised. He stops when he sees her on the floor blackened and bloody as well as barefoot, in pajamas, and unconscious. He rushes to her side. Tony and Ziva stand nearby.

"She has a pulse boss. It…it's light, but it's there." McGee says.

Gibbs places his fingers on her throat and feels for himself. At first he feels nothing but his own blood pumping in his fingertips, but then he finds it. As faint as an evening breeze, he finds it. He begins to pulls her to him, but McGee stops him.

"Boss, I don't think we should move her."

"You're right McGee. Good thinkin'. (to Tony) Where's that damn ambulance!" He yells. He isn't really angry with Tony, and he can't believe he even considered moving her.

"I'll find out boss." He says before rushing from the room.

Gibbs resorts to removing the remaining debris from her body. McGee helps him as Ziva keeps a watch from the doorway. The more they remove the more worried they become. Her leg seems to be twisted abnormally and while no bones are sticking out it is definitely broken. Small pieces of what looks like glass are embedded in her lower back and thigh. They don't touch them for fear of causing more bleeding. She also has several other cuts that can be seen as they lift what is left of her shirt from her back. McGee feels like crying, but he doesn't and it takes all of his will power not to. Gibbs leans down and whispers something into her ear, but McGee can't hear what it is. Minutes pass and all they can do is watch her and constantly check for her pulse. Finally, Tony rushes in with the paramedics right behind him.

"Medics are here." Tony dumbly states, but no one has any smart remarks to make at a time like this. McGee clears out of the closet which was barely big enough to hold them as it was. One of the paramedics takes his place.

"Sir, we need you to step out so we can check her over before we move her." The young man says to Gibbs. Gibbs stares at him for a moment. Everything seems to be happening in slow motion. He looks the young man over and decides he can't be more than twenty one, if that. This frustrates him, but he steps out anyway. The other paramedic steps inside and they begin working on her.

"There's no one else in the house boss." Tony informs him.

"Back-up should be here any minute now." McGee adds.

"Are you alright?" Ziva finally asks the million dollar question that is plaguing everyone's mind. Gibbs doesn't answer her.

"Tony. You're in charge of the scene." Tony nods to him. "I've got to put something else on. I gotta go with her. McGee. Make sure Abbey gets all of the evidence started as soon as you get it there." He walks out of the room and into his room. He grabs jeans from the drawer and begins putting them on over his shorts. Ziva enters the room while he's dressing. He sees her but continues putting on his clothes.

"And me? What do you need me to do?" She asks him.

"I want you to go to NCIS and stay there. It's the safest place. They can't do anything to you there without—" He tells her.

"Gibbs, I don't want to be at NCIS while all of you are out doing what needs to be done." She says. He walks to his closet and pulls out a shirt and puts it on.

"I can't protect you. Hell, I can't even protect her." He stops for a minute. He isn't angry with her. He walks over to her and cups her face with his hands. "Please go to NCIS. I need to know you'll be safe while I go with her to the hospital." Ziva looks up at him and realizes he's crying a little.

"Okay. I'll go to NCIS." She finally relents.

"Thank you. (He kisses her) You'll be safe there. There'll be people to help protect you." He kisses her once more and hugs her tightly.

"And who will protect the two of you?" She asks. He stops in the doorway and looks back at her. He doesn't have an answer so he says the only thing that comes to his mind. "I love you." He then turns and walks back into the other room. They have Calleigh on the gurney and are moving her out of the room.

"I'm going with her. Anything comes up. I have my cell." He tells Tony and McGee. Gibbs leaves with the ambulance as Ducky and more NCIS agents arrive to help with the scene. Gibbs takes hold of one of her hands as the paramedic continues attending to her from the other side.

**GIBBS' HOUSE--- THE CRIME SCENE—Later **

It takes hours for the investigators to process all of the evidence from the scene even with the extra hands from the back up team. There is now constant surveillance monitoring the house to ensure that it is safe. Ducky had collected the bodies and left a while ago and had taken Ziva with him at Gibbs' request.

Agents had already swept Ziva's apartment looking for Samuel, but to no avail. The place was clean. Too clean. There wasn't even a fingerprint that didn't belong to either Gibbs or Ziva.

"So exactly what are we supposed to find? The bodies were too mangled for identification and they had nothing on them except their clothes and weapons." McGee thinks aloud to Tony.

"Well, I don't know McGee that's what we're supposed to be figuring out." Tony quips.

By now most of the evidence had been retrieved and the only thing left to process was the closet. McGee walks over to it and begins working. He finds it extremely difficult. He hadn't known how much he cared for her in the little time they had been together. He photographs the blood spatter and smears from where her body lay. DiNozzo walks over and pats him on the back before helping him process. They work in silence but with mutual respect. McGee photographs a small semi-melted piece of plastic in the back of the closet. He picks it up and looks it over.

"What is it?" Tony asks.

"I think it's her cell phone. Probably nothing of any use on there though." McGee says.

"Doesn't matter. Bag 'n tag. You know the rules." Tony says as he continues to work bagging Calleigh's guns that were left in the closet after the medics took her away.

"Tony, what does that look like to you?" McGee says indicating the mass of cloth and fabric strewn up against the back wall of the closet.

"I don't know, a messy closet with some piled up blankets."

"You're probably right." McGee says as he snaps a couple of pictures anyway.

"Let's get this stuff back to Abbey so we can start gettin' some answers."

**HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

Gibbs still sits waiting. He'd been waiting in this waiting room since they'd arrived and she'd been rushed off to x-ray and then the O.R. He'd filled out paperwork, some of it he didn't know, but he knew the important stuff like her social and DOB which shocked him because he hadn't thought of it in so long. He had already had confrontations with a couple of the nurses as he probed them for information only to receive none. The whole time she'd been back there he had only been apprised of her situation once, and even then it was just to say they were still working but that she was stable. It was as if the whole world was working against him, and now even time was playing games with him because the longer he waited the more worried he became. He'd done everything he could to ease his mind. He'd washed her blood from his hands except for what had gotten on the fabric under his cast. He'd drank several cups of coffee, and had called DiNozzo several times for updates. Ziva had called him several times but he refused to answer her calls because he knew she'd want an update on Calleigh and also on how he was and he didn't have an answer for any of her questions. Throughout all of the evening's commotion he had not even felt the pain from his wrist or the soreness of his muscles, but sitting around like this was making the pain known once again.

Finally, a doctor walks out into the waiting room and calls for him. He walks over to him. He tells him the surgery went well. She had several broken ribs and one had made a small puncture in her left lung but it was easily repaired. Her knee was a different story. Her ligaments had been torn and had to be reconstructed. He also informed him that she had lost a lot of blood which was part of the reason why she was unconscious but that no long term neurological damage was expected. Most of the cuts were superficial and the ones that weren't had been stitched. The small shards of glass had been removed and placed in a container for the investigators to collect. However, overall she is expected to make a full recovery in time.

Gibbs felt a relief wash over him like nothing he'd ever felt before. She was injured but okay and for that he was more than grateful. He was then informed that she would be in recovery for a couple of hours and then he would be taken to her room to see her. Gibbs thanked him and made his way down stairs for fresh air.

**NCIS- LATER**

McGee and DiNozzo had made their way back with all of the evidence which basically just added to Abbey's overwhelming load. They had to bring back almost everything because of procedure even though they knew that much of it was irrelevant. McGee had stayed behind in Abbey's lab to help her process while DiNozzo and Ziva went to see Ducky about the autopsies.

**NCIS-AUTOPSY**

Tony and Ziva enter the sliding metal doors. Ducky and Palmer are working on one of the men from the scene, the mangled one. The other man is on a metal slab nearby with the familiar Y incision down his chest.

"Found anything interesting yet, Duck?" Tony asks somberly.

"Nothing unusual, I'm afraid. We just finished the second autopsy." He walks over and collects two jars containing four spent rounds. "Here is your cause of death. Both men were shot twice in the chest. This man here died immediately as one entered his heart, but our messy fellow over here lived for a few moments before his demise."

"We know. Long enough to drop off a grenade." Tony added.

"Yes, how is Jethro and the young Calleigh. Hmm?" Ducky asks.

"He will not answer when we call." Ziva tells him.

"Anything else you can tell us about the bodies." Tony asks. All business.

"Yes, as a matter of fact there is. Both men have matching tattoos just under their left cheek bones. They weren't very distinguishable until they were washed, but Abbey may be able to make something more of them." He says as he hands them photographs of the tattoos. Tony looks them over and then quickly passes them to Ziva.

"I do not recognize these tattoos, most people in this line of work would try not to have any identifiable marks."

"I don't know, gang bangers do." Tony remarks.

"Gang bangers kill people who don't know how to protect themselves. They do not go after well trained targets." She informs him.

**ABBEY'S LAB—LATER **

Tony and Ziva enter the lab. McGee is helping Abbey with the evidence from the explosion. Tony walks over to the examination table and picks up some of the evidence and looks at it.

"We got some more evidence for ya Abs." Tony said distractedly. Ziva walks over to her and hands her the photographs of the tattoos.

"Ooh, branded." Abbey says before walking over and placing the photographs in the scanner.

"We also have the spent rounds that killed our two friends in the morgue." Tony says as he hands her the specimen jars containing the bullets. "Got anything on any of the rest of this stuff, Abs?"

"I do know that these little buggers are only good for short range transmissions."

"Well Ziva did let the person who supposedly planted them to stay with her." Tony tells her. Abbey gives Ziva a strange look.

"I didn't know about the bugs at the time." Ziva tells her.

"What else you got Abs?" Tony asks once again.

"Tony, I may be good at my job, but even with McGee there is no way I would be done processing yet. Just sifting through all this junk has taken forever." Abbey rants.

"Probie?" Tony asks.

"I am pulling up the information from the cell we found at the scene but I think it's Calleigh's so it'll probably be nothing." McGee says as he pulls the information up on the plasma.

"Where's the clicker thingy?" Tony asks. McGee hands it to him.

"Basic stuff, numbers, pictures, texts."

"I can read McGee." Tony says. He clicks on her text messages and begins reading them.

"Tony, is that really necessary?" McGee says as he makes his way around the computer table.

"Well, I don't know that's why I'm reading it. Oh, look here these are from you. Let's see what we have here." He says as McGee tries unsuccessfully to take the remote from him.

"Tony." Ziva says.

"Yeah, c'mon Tony. That's her personal stuff." Abbey adds.

"Fine. (He clicks away) We'll just make our way to the pictures then." He says as he presses another button and a picture fills the screen. There are several photos from her tours overseas. A photo of an old man in a Navy uniform fills the screen.

"Who's that?" Tony asks.

"I don't know. I've never seen him before."

"Zoom in on the name would ya?" Tony asks. Abbey does.

"Weisz, I think." Abbey says.

"Must be daddy." Tony adds before continuing to click through the photographs. McGee looks as if he has just realized something very important, but he quickly masks his emotions. Tony continues through the photos. There are several of her and McGee and then some of McGee alone. "Nice, McGoober." He continues through the photographs. The last ones are of the dead men from the bedroom. The last one blurred but it is obvious the man wasn't quite dead when it was taken.

"Abs can you clear this up?" Tony asks.

"I can try but it may not be perfect."

"Try, and run both pictures through the database. Somebody's got to know these bastards." He says as he heads for the door.

"And where are you going?" Ziva asks.

"To get in touch with her father. He has a right to know where she is." The doors to the elevator open as he says this. Ziva once again considers telling him the truth. She hates lying to him or omitting the facts, but this may be the easier way for Gibbs to catch the man who helped ruin his life. She follows him into the elevator.

"There is just one thing bothering me."

"Just one?" Tony asks.

"Yes, why bust out the windows like it was some kind of raid. Why not sneak in undetected do the job and leave. No one the smarter." She says. Tony gives her a weird look and then responds to her statement.

"Wiser."

"Yes."

"I don't know." He says as he pushes the button and the doors close.

**THE HOSPITAL-- Later**

Gibbs is once again sitting in the waiting room. A nurse walks up to him.

"Special Agent Gibbs?"

"Yes." He says a little roughly, but he'd been waiting for hours.

"You can follow me and I will take you to her." She tells him. He follows her down the corridors to a small room. "Now she's not on a ventilator, but she may look a little different from the swelling and bruising. A nurse will be in soon to change her bandages and to make sure everything's alright."

"Is she awake?" He asks her.

"The drugs are wearing off so she should be waking up anytime, but she did loose a lot of blood and will be in a lot of pain from the surgeries among other things so I wouldn't expect a whole lot."

"Thank you." He says as he enters the room. The nurse was right. She did look a bit different. There were various lines running to and from her body, and she was bruised and swollen. He walks over to her bed and takes a seat next to her. Her right arm has a bright pink cast on it that goes almost to her elbow. The small cuts on her face are cleaned and bandaged. Her leg is elevated slightly, and her breathing is rough but constant. She is no longer blackened from the explosion and all of the blood has been cleaned away, but Gibbs still feels guilty. Like all of this is because of him. He reaches out and takes her hand. There are some small scratches and scraps along her arm, so he tries to mindful of them. His phone rings. He sighs and sits back and answers it.

"Gibbs."

**NCIS—SAME TIME**

"Why haven't you been answering? I have called many times." Ziva rushes.

**THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

"It's a hospital. They don't have good signal." He lies.

** NCIS—SAME TIME**

"How is she?"

**THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

"She's alright. I just now got back here. She was in surgery for hours." He goes on to inform her of all of the injuries she sustained. "How's the case going?"

**NCIS—SAME TIME**

"We have photos of the men who attacked and Abbey is running them now."

** THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

"How?"

**NCIS—SAME TIME**

"Calleigh's phone. She must have taken the photo just before the explosion. We also found tattoos on both men. We are trying to find out what they mean or who they are linked to but no luck yet."

**THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

"Anything else?"

**NCIS—SAME TIME**

"No, most of the evidence is irrelevant. The bodies were clean as were the weapons."

She says. She notices Tony is watching her while she speaks. She mouths 'Gibbs' at him so he knows who she is talking to.

**THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

"They used a grenade Ziva. You don't just buy those at the hardware store." He says harshly.

**NCIS—SAME TIME**

"No, but it is in tiny pieces and Abbey hasn't got it put back together yet." She retorts.

**THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

"Who do you think they are?"

**NCIS—SAME TIME**

"I do not know. If they were Mossad they would not have been so sloppy and we would all be dead now. They were amateurs Gibbs. I don't understand it."

**THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

Gibbs takes a couple moments to process what she has told him. Finally he continues as the realization sets in.

"You weren't the target, and neither was I." He says. "They know about her. They knew you'd be in the other room. They were watching us Ziva. They knew she'd be there. They were going after her. They were sending a message."

**NCIS—SAME TIME**

"But how would they know about her relationship to you? Only the three of us know."

**THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

"We aren't the only ones who know… When you first came to NCIS you made a dossier on anyone you might encounter, right?"

**NCIS—SAME TIME**

"Yes, but she wasn't in yours."

**THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

"No, but if they have been watching us lately they would have one on her."

**NCIS—SAME TIME**

Ziva finally understands what he's saying. "And they would know about the Colonel. And if they found him then even he couldn't withstand their questions indefinitely."

**THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

"He had to have told them how she's connected with me. They're going after the people I care about most first." He tells her. Calleigh begins to stir. "I have to go."

**NCIS—SAME TIME**

"Tony is trying to find the Colonel now. I will talk to you soon."

**THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

"Don't leave the Navy yard. I love you."

**NCIS—SAME TIME**

It's the second time he has said it since everything that has happened and it takes her a moment to process his words. They still seem unfamiliar to her even though he has said it before in more intimate settings, but now it is openly said as if it should be known to the world. She realizes he's still on the line.

"I love you." She says before placing her phone down on the receiver. Tony hears her.

"Spill." Is all he says.

"We have to find Colonel Weisz immediately." She says, trying to avoid his interest.

"In a minute. I want to know what's going on." He says intensely, leaving no room for discussion. She hesitates and then begins. She tells him everything about herself and Gibbs as wells as about Calleigh.

"Now, can we get back to work."

"Yes, but after I vomit profusely from the thought of the two of you together."

**THE HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

Calleigh slowly awakens. She lifts her arm to her face only to realize how heavy it is from the cast that resides there. She looks to her left. There sits Gibbs slightly smiling at her.

"Hi." He whispers.

"Hi." She mouths more than actually says. She tries to sit up a bit only to find that moving is far more painful than she remembered.

"Just relax and lie back. Do you want me to get somebody?" He asks concerned at the grimace covering her face. She shakes her head no. "Do you know what happened?" He asks. She shakes her head yes. "Do you know where you are?" Once again she shakes her head yes, but gives him a very stern look conveying that she thinks this line of questioning is stupid.

"I need some water." She whispers. He quickly retrieves it and helps her to sip it. She lays her head back on the pillow. "How long have you been here?" She asks him.

"I rode in with you in the ambulance."

"Do you know who they were?" She asks.

"Not yet, but I will. Tony, Ziva and McGee are working on it now."

"What's wrong with my leg?" She asks. He tells her all her injuries. She starts crying. Silent tears make their way down her cheeks.

"Hey. What's wrong? Doctor said with a little time you'll be good as new. Are you in pain?" She nods yes, but is still crying. "I'm going to go get someone." He tells her and he begins to let go of her hand to leave, but she grasps it tighter. He looks back at her. "I'm coming right back." He assures her before giving her hand one more squeeze and walking out to find a nurse.

Moments later he returns with a nurse who gives them instructions on how to use the morphine pump, and that she can push it whenever she's in pain without having to worry. It is set to disperse only a certain amount of medication in a given time period. Calleigh immediately pushes it. Gibbs takes his seat beside her once more. He takes her hand in his as she falls back asleep.

**NCIS—LATER**

"I've tried everything. Numbers, residences, contacts. Everything and I got nothing. I can't find him anywhere." Tony says as he slams his phone down on the receiver. He looks over to Ziva. "What have you got?"

"One of my contacts sent me some information on the tattoos the men had. It links the men to what is believed to be a small cell here in DC. I faxed him the photos, but he doesn't recognize them."

"Did this contact give any last known addresses of any of these supposed cell members?" Tony asks.

"Yes, but Tony we will not find anything there. (Tony is getting his gear ready) Even if my father hired them they would not have left anything that would lead back to them."

"Call 'em back and have 'em fax us any photographs they have of any of the members." He tells her. She does. The fax comes in. He spreads them out across his desk. She walks over and looks at them with him.

"Oh my God."

"What?" He asks stunned by her expression.

"It's Samuel." She tells him as she picks up the picture.

"You sound surprised. Should we be surprised?"

"We have spent our whole lives fighting against these kinds of people. He would not be involved in anything—"

"Bet you never thought he'd bug your bedroom either." Tony interjects. She stares at him for a moment before tossing the photo back down. "Gear up, we're going to check it out." He says asserting his lead. She does and they head out.

** APARTMENT COMPLEX, DC**

Tony and Ziva slowly walk down a hallway, their hands resting on their weapons still in their holsters. The complex is less than sanitary and very 'shady' looking. Graffiti covers the walls in the hallway. They come up to a set of stairs that lead up to the next floor. They take them and cautiously head up the stairs. They reach the floor their suspects are expected to be on. They approach the door in the middle of the hallway. They each take a position on either side of the door. Tony bangs on the door.

"NCIS. Warrant!" He yells.

"We do not have a warrant." Ziva points out. Tony ignores her and counts to three before opening the door and stepping inside, guns drawn. They make their way through the small apartment clearing each room. They rendezvous in the main room. There is a body lying next to the small table that holds many small electronic pieces. The man has no obvious injuries, but has no pulse.

"Door was cracked, yeah?" Tony says.

"Yes." Ziva agrees. She flips open her phone and calls Ducky. The microwave beeps. They both jump, startled by the noise. They jerk their guns up in the direction of the sound. Ziva moves in and checks for anyone. "Clear. Just the microwave."

"They must have just left." Tony adds as he walks around the room checking things over. Ziva joins him. She walks over to the closet that they had opened to clear earlier. She begins moving things around. Suddenly she stops.

"Tony?" She calls. He walks over to her and kneels next to her. He freezes. There is a large bomb packed neatly in the closet. The timer and wires are hidden inside a small black box. "Do you think we should open it and –" Tony grabs her hand away from the box.

"No, no. No. That is a bad idea. Bad idea." He firmly states.

"Right, we need to evacuate the building." She says. Tony hesitates, as he was thinking of evacuating them more than everyone else.

"Right. You go down stairs. I'll go up." He says. She leaves immediately. He walks over to the man and takes as many photographs of the body he can and quickly checks the man for any identification. He takes everything from the man's pockets. He takes off upstairs. Both of them are going door to door rushing residents, who are mostly drug addicts, from their rooms. Ziva gets out of the building first, helping anyone who needs it. Soon after many more people begin filing out of the building. Tony brings up the rear.

"Call the bomb squad?" He asks her.

"Yes." She says as she brings her phone up to her ear.

"We need all of you to get as far away from the building as possible!" Tony yells to the now large crowd.

"They will be here soon." Ziva tells him. "It could be remote activated, Tony."

"We don't know that. It could be on a timer. There's no reason to fool around with it."

"Only that time is of the essence if we are going to find any answers." She adds.

"Well we won't have any answers if we get blown up." He states.

"I don't see how anyone knew we were coming." She says, dumbfounded.

"Maybe your source knew you'd come."

"Perhaps."

"Alright, from now on. You don't contact anyone other than the team, got it." Tony orders.

"I do not think that this is all some conspiracy—"

"I didn't say it was, but it's my job to keep us safe, and I say no one but the team." He affirms.

"Fine."

**THE HOSPITAL—LATER**

Calleigh wakes and turns to her left, realizing the weight there. Gibbs is asleep on her arm. She wiggles her arm and he lifts his head. He wipes his eyes as he shrugs off the drowsiness.

"You should go home." She tells him.

"Na, just a big mess there anyway." He jests and smiles at her. She smiles back at him.

"Then you should be working the case." She insists.

"They can handle it."

"They have a ton of evidence. Little to go on and—"

"I don't care. This is more important." He assures her.

"I'm not going anywhere this time." She tells him as she smiles. He doesn't look deterred. "How about a sit-rep then?"

"Just don't worry about it. It's going to be taken care of." He tells for her benefit and his. His cell rings. "Gibbs." He answers. Calleigh turns on the t.v. with the remote by her head. Gibbs watches her. He can tell she's in pain, but she masks it well. She still doesn't hit the button for the medication to dull the pain. He listens to Tony give him a sit-rep.

** APARTMENT COMPLEX, DC**

"Basically, they are gonna blow it up boss. They're worried that if they try to open it will detonate anyway and everything is hidden inside the box so no one knows the trigger. They are going to bring out the body, but everything else will be lost. They won't let anyone in the building." Tony informs him. "What should I do? Everywhere we turn it's a dead end."

**THE HOSPITAL**

"Keep looking. It's all you can do."

** APARTMENT COMPLEX, DC**

"I just don't know anyway to find these guys." Tony tells him, feeling useless. "How's Calleigh doin'?" He casually asks.

** THE HOSPITAL**

"Okay, considering… Where's Ziva and McGee?" Gibbs asks.

** APARTMENT COMPLEX, DC**

"Ziva's here and McGee's back at the lab with Abbey."

** THE HOSPITAL**

"Have McGee run down anything you got off the dead guy in the building."

**APARTMENT COMPLEX, DC**

"Right, on it. I should've thought about that." Tony states feeling like a probie again.

**THE HOSPITAL**

Gibbs hangs up his phone. He feels guilty treating Tony like he's a probie again, but he knows that sometimes he needs a little nudge in the right direction. He turns his attention back to Calleigh who has finally given in and is pushing the button for the pain medication. She speaks without looking at him, just knowing he's watching her.

"I told you, you should go. Finding the people responsible is more important right now. That way when I get out of here I don't have to worry 'bout something crazy like this happening again." She is very persistent. "Why are you so determined to stay. You can have McGee stay if you don't want to leave me alone."

She looks at him and sees through the façade he's trying to put on.

"Guess I'm afraid something will happen again." He finally admits.

"I'm not six years old anymore. Nothing is going to happen, but it will if you don't stop the people who did this." She says. He knows she's right and that her points are valid. It's still hard for him to consider leaving her, but she's right and McGee could watch her.

Finally he relents.

"I'll only be gone a couple hours. I'll have McGee come down and stay with you. Alright?" He goes back to her side.

"Okay." She says drowsily as the medicines begin taking effect.

Gibbs flips his phone open and call McGee. He tells him the plan and that it's only for a few hours. McGee is eager to see her anyway and is more than grateful to do as Gibbs asks. Less than an hour later McGee enters the hospital room to take up his post by her side. He enters the room and hesitates as he sees her injured frame sleeping. She's considerably paler than usual, but he expected that, but she looks very weak and that is what really bothers him.

"I won't be gone long, McGee. No one comes in unless it's doctors or nurses. Got it." He says more than asks. McGee nods his affirmation. Calleigh is still asleep. Gibbs leans down and kisses her forehead and gives her hand one last squeeze before heading out.

"Oh, boss. Abbey said she'd have the information on the dead guy within the hour, but that was nearly an hour ago, so." McGee stumbles over his words. Gibbs nods and walks out the door, closing it behind him.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS**

Gibbs exits the elevator to enter the bullpen. He sees Tony and Ziva at their respective desks apparently working to find a link. Gibbs rounds the corner and immediately heads to Ziva.

"I thought I told you to stay here." He all but yells.

"I thought that—" She starts but is interrupted by Tony.

"I made her go with me boss. Thought she'd be safer with me than—" Tony says as he stands in her defense.

"Did I ask you DiNozzo?"

"No boss, sorry." He says as he lowers back down in his seat. He eyes Ziva before returning to his computer. She doesn't look at him.

"I felt I was needed elsewhere." She boldly tells Gibbs.

"You were supposed to stay here, Ziva." He says to her in a hushed tone.

"We had a lead. I had to go. I couldn't let Tony go alone and McGee was helping Abbey process."

"You should've called me." He tells her.

"You haven't answered my calls all day. What would have made that one any different?" She whispers. He doesn't have anything to say to that because he knows she's right. He had been ignoring her calls all day. His phone rings.

"Gibbs." He answers it. Ziva watches him. "I'll be right down Abs." He motions for Ziva to follow, she does, and they both enter the elevator.

**NCIS HQ--- ELEVATOR**

She waits for him to flip the familiar switch but he doesn't so she does.

"Stop doing this, please." She tells him insecurely.

"I'm not doin' anything, Ziva." He says as if he is lost and hopeless.

"You are pushing me away. Stop it."

"I'm not pushing you away. I… damn it." He says in frustration as he punches the wall with his good hand.

"Break the other hand. I am certain that will help." Ziva deadpans.

"Ziva, I can't protect you. Can't you see that? I can't even protect my own daughter for a second time."

"None of this is your fault and I am not looking for a hero Jethro. I can protect myself, and we will figure this out. We always do." She tries to convince him even though she knows he is blaming himself for everything. She takes his face in her hands and forces him to look at her.

"Calleigh will be fine, as will we. I promise." She whispers.

He reaches up and rests his hands on each side of her neck and gently pulls until her forehead rests against his.

"I can't lose either of you Ziva. I can't go through that again." He says desperately.

Silent moments pass as they share the most intimate moment they have ever had. Finally she tilts her head and gently kisses him. As her lips touch his she can feel the wetness from the silent tears that had made their way down his cheeks. She had never seen him this way. The kiss is tender and endearing but it ends all too quickly. He wipes his face and looks away from her.

"Then we must get them before they get us, yes." She says as she flips the switch and the elevator moves again.

He reaches over, takes her hand, and squeezes it gently. He releases her hand as the elevator doors open to Abbey's lab.

HOSPITAL--- SAME TIME

Calleigh awakes to find McGee sitting next to her completely absorbed in his iphone. At first she is shocked to see him there, but then vaguely remembers Gibbs telling her his intentions.

"I told you to stop looking at so much porn, it's bad for you." She jests in a weak voice.

Her voice startles him and he stumbles over his words.

"What? Oh, I… Uh, it's not porn. It's a---" He says as he turns his phone for her to see.

"I know Tim. I was just joking." She says as she gives him a weak smile.

He smiles back at her and moves closer. He's nervous and he doesn't know why.

"How ya feeling?" He says, and immediately feels dumb for asking.

"Oh, same as always. How 'bout you?" She says trying to keep the mood light and less awkward.

She moves her hand near the edge of the bed where his hand rests. He gently intertwines his fingers with hers and then places a chaste kiss to the top of her hand. She smiles to hide the tears that threaten to escape.

"I'm sorry." She whispers.

"Why? Listen to me. You did nothing wrong. Okay?" He tries to reassure her.

"I should have shot him in the head and then he couldn't have pulled the pin out and everything would have been fine." She says as a few tears escape her.

"No, you were amazing… It was our fault. Mine and Tony's. We should've noticed something was wrong. We were the ones on watch. Not you." He reassures her as his own realization sinks in.

**NCIS- ABBEY'S LAB**

Gibbs and Ziva enter the lab to be cheerfully greeted by a much overworked and very tired looking Abbey. Gibbs and Ziva are both shocked at her distressed appearance. They have all been a bit disheveled and rattled to say the least, but Abbey looked worse than any of them, excluding Calliegh.

"What'd you got for me Abs?" Gibbs asks trying to be as normal as possible as they near the table that holds many many pieces of evidence from the recent events.

"Too much of nothing." She replies only to receive very puzzled looks from the two special agents. "I mean, I have a lot of stuff, but most of it results to nothing."

"Well then tell me what results to something."

"I'm getting to that Gibbs, have patience, Ziva tell him to have patience."

"You should have patience Gibbs." Ziva says matter-of-factly only to find herself in a stare down with Gibbs before shrugging her shoulders in defeat.

"Okay, first the stuff from our first scene or your house or your scene… anyway, the grenade was pretty much like any other except that this bad boy managed to fall of a truck on its way to Norfolk six weeks ago. I know this because of the---"

"Abs, just keep going. You don't have to explain every detail"

"But Gibbs that's the best part."

"Abbey." He chastises her.

"Fine. Anyway, I spoke to the master at arms and he said their last shipment was 100 short. Then we move on to the tattoos on the dead men's necks and I couldn't find anything on any group sporting them even though you (Ziva) obviously did… but uhm. I can tell you who did the job… (they look at her strangely) The tattoos I mean. I know who inked them. It's a little parlor near the beltway. Here's the address. (she hands them a piece of paper.) Moving on to the second scene. Okay so as for the bomb, it's going to take a while and when I say while I mean I may never get it back together, but the thing was definitely capable of being remotely detonated. We are talking maybe a hundred hundred yard radius."

"But the explosion would have killed them if they had detonated." Ziva interjects.

"Maybe that's why they didn't." Gibbs states.

"Yeah, thought about that, but I don't think so… I think there was also a trigger. Like maybe something in the room or something. I don't know yet. But you see these lines along the walls here in the pictures Tony took well they may have been connected to something that could have triggered the explosion if anyone touched it." Abbey says.

"Find a signature?" Gibbs asks her.

"Sort of… Well maybe. I found this etching on this burnt fragment. Take a look." Abbey types on the computer and brings the etching up on the plasma.

"G. What is that? A 'B'?"

"A 'P' actually." Abbey corrects him.

"Ziva?" Gibbs looks to her. She's noticeably pale. "Ziva."

She looks at him.

"You know who that is?" He asks her.

"Yes." She turns and walks out of the lab.

"Gibbs, if Ziva's scared then shouldn't we be?" Abbey asks.

"No worries, Abs." He assures her before leaving. He hurries to the elevator and slides into the quickly closing doors. He looks at Ziva and the back at the doors and then at her again, expectantly.

"Alright. Would you stop with the--"

"I didn't say anything, Ziva."

"You didn't have to. G. P. is the signature of Gabreel Palo."

94


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I forgot to add a disclaimer to the first chapter (which is actually the majority of the story), so here it is. Uhm, I do not own any character or anything to do with NCIS. So that's out of the way. Sorry for taking so long to update, but things have been crazy. Also, I'm sorry this is such a short chapter, but I hope to update at least once a week and future chapters should be longer so the story won't drag out too long. Also, future chapters will definitely be leading to more and more Ziva and Gibbs, but don't worry the other characters will be incorporated some too. However, this is a Ziva and Gibbs story so lots of them to come.

Thanks for the reviews and I hope to read more.

Thanks for reading.

--- Bridge

He doesn't show any recognition at the mention of the name. She looks at him. He returns her stare.

"That supposed to mean something?" He asks.

"It is a name we used on a mission in South America." She informs him.

"We?" He asks.

"Samuel and I."

"This guy's really starting to piss me off."

"I can assure you that he is only doing as he's told." She tells him.

"Why are you so quick to take up for him?" He asks.

"Why are you so quick to condemn him?" She quips.

"Maybe because he's trying to kill you. Is that a good enough reason?" He barks as the elevator doors open to the bull pen.

They exit.

** NCIS BULLPEN**

"What was the mission in South America?"

"Gibbs?"

"Ziva, I don't care what you two did." _Lie _" But I need to know the connection."

"It was nothing really. We were sent to remove the ambassador from his post." She states formally.

"And how'd that work out for ya?" He asks.

"Let's just say the situation got a bit more complicated." She says shyly as she moves to her desk.

"So you what blew up the embassy?" He asks. Half joking. She doesn't answer him. She merely sits at her desk and begins typing on her computer.

"You blew up the embassy." He states in disbelief.

"What embassy, boss?" Tony interjects.

"I didn't blow anything up." She defends herself.

"But you didn't stop it."

"Of course I didn't stop it. It was our mission and we completed it."

"What're we talking about?" Tony's completely lost in the conversation. They are both ignoring him.

"You ask me what happened and now you know."

"What was the count Ziva?"

"Seventy six give or take a couple. Which is why I believe this is orders and not something to do with what may or may not have been." She continues working on her computer.

Gibbs moves behind his desks.

"Tony, check out the tattoo parlor. See if they remember anything about the men from the house."

"On it." Tony stands and gathers his gear. Ziva stands. Prepared to go with him.

"Nope. No. Your flyin' solo on this one." Gibbs says stopping both Ziva and Tony. Ziva sits back down at her desk as Tony leaves after giving Gibbs a stunned look.

"What would drive a man to try to kill his own daughter?" Gibbs says his thought aloud.

Ziva doesn't answer him. She merely watches his brainstorming.

"And why would he make the attempt on Calleigh. She has nothing to do with Ari or you even."

"She is just the closest way to get to you."

"It's because of us." He states as if he has just had an ephiphany.

"How do you know?" She asks. Confused.

"Because he knows I have you. You're all he has since Ari's death and I have you. This has nothing to do with the report on Ari's death or anything else. He's found out about us—"

**TATTOO PARLOR- LATER**

Tony slows the car to a stop in front of the small parlor. The parlor is small and dimly lit with only neon signs flashing through the painted windows. It is part of a small shopping center and is flanked on both sides by other 'shady' looking establishments. Tony exits the car. He closes the doors and looks to the building.

"This has to be completely unsanitary." He grumbles as he walks to the building.

He enters.

**TATTOO PARLOR- INSIDE**

Tony first peaks inside the door. There are several people looking through binder full of tattoo designs. The walls are covered in what appear to be graffiti. The people looking through the binders all appear to be barely old enough to vote with the except one who has sleeve tattoos and obviously knows his way around the parlor. A woman is behind the counter and she has many tattoos and piercings. The subtle buzzing of the ink guns is clearly audible behind the whispers of those looking through the binders.

Tony steps fully inside the door and it slams roughly (loudly) behind him. Everyone stops what they are doing and stares at him.

"Ha, ha, ha hi." He says nervously.

He walks over to the counter and pulls two pictures out of his coat pocket.

"Hey Bobby! We got another cop here!" The attendant yells over her shoulder.

"Whoa, how'd you…"

"You don't think I can spot a—" She starts but is cut off by Bobby who comes up behind Tony from a different door.

"How can I help you?" He says as he touches Tony's shoulder. Tony turns to him. He is faced with a middle aged burly man in a black tank top with sleeve tattoos and a skull wrapping around the side of his neck. Tony gulps, straightens himself, and clears his throat before speaking.

"I was wondering if you'd seen this man recently." He shows him a picture of Colonel Weisz.

"Uhm, I don't know. We have a lot of Navy men come in here."

"Really?" Tony says skeptically.

"Look, you can ask some of the other guys, but all those guys look the same, they all want the same kind of crap—"

"Okay, well what about this. _ (He shows him the photo of the tattoo from the men's necks)_ You ever seen this before."

"That looks familiar, but it's messed up pretty bad."

"Well that's because it's on a dead guy. So yeah, it may not be the best angle."

"I've never done one like that. Check with Blade. He's in the back workin' on—"

"Thanks, I'll do that." Tony cuts him off and walks away through a half open door.

The room is empty but the buzz of the ink gun is louder. There is another door to the back of the room. The buzzing stops as Tony crosses the room. He enters the door. A chubby man is sitting in a chair leaned forward hugging the chair's back. His upper torso is exposed and Tony notices the half of a large tattoo covering most of his reddened back. To Tony's left is an open door. A man walks through it holding what appears to be a tube of ink in his hand. He is looking down and doesn't notice Tony standing in the doorway. The man is around thirty years old and doesn't look like he belongs in the place. His tanned skin appears to be tattoo free and he sports a clean hair cut. He could easily work anywhere he wanted to.

"So, I think this might be the one—" He says as he raises his head. Tony then sees the familiar circular tattoo with a blackened diamond in the middle on the young man's neck.

Tony takes a step toward him and the young man sees his badge. He throws himself into Tony, effectively throwing Tony off balance and busting the container of ink on him. He then runs threw the small building and out the door.

Tony chases after him. He chases him across the shopping center's parking lot and down three blocks before the young man finds himself in an alleyway blocked by a Fed Ex truck. Tony comes to a stop at the end of the alleyway knowing the man has no where to go. He bends over trying to catch his breath.

"You know, this is really _(heavy breathing) _ridiculous. I mean, now I'm just gonna have to cuff you anyway and now we have to walk all the way back to the car." He grumbles as he makes his way to the man. He cuffs him, and pulls out his phone.

**HOSPITAL—LATER**

Calleigh waits anxiously as McGee talks on the phone. All she can hear are his intermittent "uh, huhs" and "right bosses" each followed by short pauses. She is constantly mouthing what to him only to be answered with an index finger being held up in her face.

"You are so infuriating." She says aloud only to once again be met by a finger being held in the air. "Just let me talk to him." She complains.

"That's not a problem. I don't mind at all… Well no I didn't mean that I—right I will"

He says as he hangs up the phone. He turns to an expectant Calleigh.

"So, what's going on?" She probes.

"Gibbs said he's held up but that he will be here later and that he will explain later." He states like a broken record.

"That's not all he said."

"It's all I can tell you."

"Tell me. I want to know what's going on."

"Please, don't. I can't. Gibbs made me give him my word." He pleads.

"Please, McGee. Please… _(He isn't relenting.) _Tim p-l-e-a-s-e… _(she pouts at him)_"

**NCIS HQ—LATER**

Tony is standing behind his desk buttoning up a new shirt. He finishes and picks up his ink blotted one and sighs. He tries to wipe some of the ink only to be rewarded with dark smears.

"Great." He says as he wads the shirt up and puts it in his drawer.

"You should probably just throw it out Tony."

"That's easy for you to say. You didn't spend a hundred and twenty bucks on it." He gripes.

"No, I would not be so stupid." She quips.

"Knock it off you two." Gibbs says.

"So when are we gonna talk to this guy, boss."

"Soon, let him sweat a little more." Gibbs replies.

Tony's phone rings. He answers.

"DiNozzo… Hey, how ya feel—no we haven't talked to him yet—no—how'd you---oh, good ole' McWhimpish. No, no, of course you made him. _(Gibbs looks at him.)_ _(Tony tries to cover.) _So where is McFlowerpower now anyway. Right, uh I should really go…" _Gibbs picks up the folder off his desk and heads for the elevator with Ziva in tow. _Uh, Cal, really I gotta go. I'll let ya know what he says." He rushes the last part and then sprints for the elevator. He makes it inside just as the doors close. He is quickly met with a Gibbs slap to the back of the head.

"Boss." Tony looks at him astonished.

"You'll let her know?" Gibbs says before turning his attention back to the doors in front of him. Tony looks at Ziva who shrugs so he too turns his attention to the doors in front of him to await their opening.

They familiar ding rings and the doors open. They exit.

Ziva and Tony take their familiar place behind the glass. Gibbs enters the interrogation room.

**NCIS—INTERROGATION**

Gibbs closes the door and calmly makes his way to the table. Immediately the man begins his defense.

"Look, dude, I didn't do nothin'"

"No, 'course not. Dude."

"Look, I was at work and that guy just started chasin' me."

"You have to be runnin' for somebody to chase you (he opens the file) Anton."

"Yea, well he was—" He gets defensive again.

"Why don't you just shut up 'til I ask you a question." Gibbs looks at him and sees him relent.

**NCIS—OPPOSITE SIDE OF TWO-WAY GLASS**

"He that calm all the time?" Tony asks. Ziva looks at him.

"Don't do that Tony."

"Just a question. So does that mean no?"

"No."

"Ha, ha. I knew it."

"Knew what, Tony."

"That the boss man has a—" Ziva stares at him. "wonderful personality deep down hidden under his many layers of anger and self control."

**NCIS – INTERROGATION ROOM**

"I swear to you. I haven't done anything." Anton says.

"You see, I just find that hard to believe, and you want to know why?" Gibbs starts pulling photographs out of a file and placing them in front of Anton. As the photographs are spread along the table Anton's skin lightens to an ashy tone. He is ill.

"Look, I don't know nothin' bout none of that." He says as he rubs his nose and looks at Gibbs.

"Stop it!" Gibbs slams his hand on the table. Anton doesn't say anything. "You're little gang sign gives you away." Anton just looks at him. "What do you think your other little homies are gonna think when they find one of their own squealed on 'em."

"Na, dude, 'cuz I ain't sayin' nothin'."

"Why don't you drop the act? I know all about you and your Catholic prep school and your little Richie rich life style you grew up with." Anton looks shocked. "Oh do they know that. Maybe they should know just how gangster you really are. How you get all your money from your little trust fund and how the work you do is just—"

"Okay. Fine. I know some people came by and were askin' about some Navy Colonel and wanted to know if we could find him. Then when we did they came back askin' us to do a job for 'em."

"A job?" Gibbs probes.

"Yeah, but I didn't go in on it. I do this more for show, you know. It's fun."

"Does this look like fun to you?" Gibbs indicates the pictures of the dead men.

"No, but they made a choice."

"What was the job?" He asks.

"It was stupid. They wanted us to get these girls. They said it didn't matter if they were dead or alive. But look, I don't believe in hurtin' women. All we had to do was go to this house and get the younger one and then we were supposed to grab the hot one later."

"How'd you know where the house was?"

"They gave us the address and told us what to do. Look, if I'd went in those windows then that'd be me, but it ain't 'cause I didn't do it."

"I never said they went through the windows." Gibbs says as he stands. He turns to the window and motions for Tony to cut the audio and video recording. Anton notices he moving closer to him.

"I want a lawyer. Now." He states nervously. Gibbs moves around the table and grabs Anton by his shirt and pulls him to his feet. (A difficult feat considering the cast he's sporting) He shoves him into the wall.

"You know that house you went to. That was mine." He slings him up against the wall again. Tony and Ziva burst through the door. Tony grabs Gibbs and pulls him off the young man. Anton notices Ziva.

"Hey, that's her. That's the hot one I told you about." He says as he straightens his clothes. Gibbs lunges himself at him, but Tony holds onto him. Tony pushes him out the door, Ziva lingers behind and walks over to Anton.

"Hello." Anton says.

Ziva punches him in his stomach. He doubles over trying to catch his breath.

"Ziva… Ziva." Tony calls her out the door. She leaves the young man inside the room and closes the door behind her.

Tony pushes Gibbs into the wall, and then steps back.

"You okay?" Tony asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just go finish in there." Gibbs tells him, frustrated with himself.

"Well that was productive. Yes?" She says staring at him with her arms crossed.

"Let's go for coffee… I need to…Let's just go." He says as he takes her hand and pulls her along.

"Gibbs we can't just leave Tony to do—"

"He's fine, we won't be gone that long." Gibbs tells her as he leads her away.

….to be continued


	3. Chapter 3

a/n: Okay, so this chapter is the conclusion of the story. My deepest apologies for taking forever. Hope you enjoy.

**COFFEE SHOP- ON BASE**

Gibbs and Ziva enter the small shop. It's quaint and quiet, but adequately equipped to offer a few minutes of down time. They approach the counter. The worker turns to and recognizes Gibbs immediately.

"Agent Gibbs, the usual?"

"Yeah, Cindy and whatever she wants." He says as Ziva looks over the menu. Cindy looks at Ziva expectantly. Ziva notices and quickly chooses the first thing she sees.

"I'll have a slushi."

"What flavor?" Cindy asks, seemingly annoyed.

"Cherry." Ziva replies, just as annoyed. Cindy makes their drinks.

"I'm sorry." Gibbs says randomly, without looking at her.

"You should never apologize, it's a-" He silences her with a stare. Cindy returns with their drinks. Gibbs pays. Cindy looks a bit jealous of Ziva. Gibbs and Ziva move to a table in the corner. It's taller than average and the seats are more like bar stool than chairs.

"How is your hand?" She asks him.

"Fine." He lies. It's aching from his most recent confrontation, but he refuses to acknowledge it to himself much less to her. She knows he's lying.

She watches him. She feels as though she knows everything about him. She has learned from him from years of working at his side, all the while gathering tiny pieces of information that reveal the real man behind the mask he wears. Then as their relationship progressed she learned him. She now knows him like no other. Every mark, every scar, every callous made from constant the late night sanding on his many boats. The way he looked at his boats as he carefully painted the names on each one and then the proud look in his eyes as he finished them. The memories he's hid from everyone including himself for so long he'd revealed to her. As the mystery of Gibbs unveiled itself to her she realized that everything was different. He'd changed her and she was better for it. She loves him more than she ever thought she could.

He notices her watching him and she's not saying anything.

"Maybe after this is all over we can go somewhere. Get away for a while."

"Maybe." She replies.

"Maybe." He mocks.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asks seriously.

"Yeah. (he scoffs) I just got a little frustrated that's all. I'm tired of running around in damn circles."

"It's what we do." She states matter-of-factly.

"I know." He says, suddenly very interested in his cup sitting in front of him.

"And are you going to be alright if this ends badly?" She boldly asks the question that's been lingering around since all this started. He fiddles with the lid on his cup. Suddenly the small coffee shop feels all to small, the air thick in his lungs, with every breath he takes thoughts flash through his mind. Memories really. They flash between the life he had and the one he has now and in no particular order. He sees the graves of the family he buried with a part of himself and then suddenly Ziva is there as well. His mind swirls with confusion. Suddenly Ziva gently grasps his hand that is still attending to his coffee cup. It brings him out of his reverie. He looks at her and she him. What seems like an eternity passes but in reality it has only been seconds.

"No." He finally says with honesty. His phone rings. He maintains his eye contact with Ziva as she process the information. He still holds her hand in his until he is forced to relinquish it in order to answer his phone.

"Gibbs." He answers in a dry voice. He breaks his eye contact and steps away from the table.

"We'll be right there." He says as he steps back toward Ziva. He hangs up his phone, and pockets it. He grabs his coffee cup and tosses it in the nearest can then takes Ziva's hand. He brings her hand to his lips and kisses it softly. He then he reaches up and brushes his hand across her cheek.

"Tony cracked him. He's got something. Everything will be fine. I promise." He kisses her temple. Ziva relishes his embrace as she always does. However, his assurance doesn't do much for her. She is still tense and worried. She isn't worried so much about herself as she is him. He is blinded by his love for her and Calleigh. She knows this, and if she knows it so does the people after them. "C'mon." He says as he wraps his arm around her shoulders and leads them out of the building.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS**

Gibbs and Ziva both exit the elevator with complete professionalism. They are met by and eager Tony DiNozzo who has a notepad in his hand.

"Well what'd ya got?" Gibbs asks him.

"The kid swears he was only the driver. (Gibbs doesn't look excited about what he's got) Okay, maybe I should of started off with this. I got three addresses. The kid said this one's (he passes him the paper) where they were supposed to meet to do the swap, this one (he passes him another slip of paper) is where they met once after the explosion when he says they gave him and a guy named Wasp another try. He said they shot their other friend right between the eyes." DiNozzo reports.

"And the third, you said there were three." Gibbs says.

"Yeah, this one's not really an address so much as half directions. He said he heard two other guys talking about an apartment construction site that's near a landing strip but that's all he knew. One of the guys was the guy they shot at their little meeting."

"For a man who knows nothing. He sure knows a lot, yes." Ziva states. Gibbs passes her the addresses.

"DiNozzo, get McGee back here, we're gonna need him to help find this landing strip."

"On it." DiNozzo says as he heads straight to his desk and picks up his phone.

**HOSPITAL—SAME TIME**

McGee sits on the foot of Calleigh's bed flipping through the television stations.

"Please, just pick something already." Calleigh complains.

"I would, but their signal sucks. The channels are barely picking up and I can't find anything." He tells her. His phone rings.

"McGee." He answers. "There's several but we can probably narrow it down a little by the fact that there's an apartment complex near it 'cause most of them just have hotels." He listens as Tony gives him instructions. "'K, I'll be there in twenty." He tells him.

He turns to Calleigh. "I, uh, Gotta go."

"What'd he say?" she asks.

"We have a lead and they need me to come and try to narrow it down."

"Well, go." She rushes him.

"Okay, uhm…-"

"Just go, McGee. I'm fine. I'll probably be outta here tomorrow anyway, and the way they keep comin' in and unhookin' stuff, I'll be out today. Besides, Gibbs will probably call off and on all night." She reassures him. He walks over to her side and kisses her goodbye. He leaves.

She picks up the remote and changes the channel twice before finding something to watch. She relaxes.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS—LATER**

The elevator dings and McGee steps out into the bullpen. He looks for the team as he rounds the corner, only to find Ziva sitting at her desk furiously typing on keyboard.

"Ziva." He greets her tentatively. "Where is everybody?"

"Apparently Tony and Gibbs think that it is too dangerous for me to go." She rants.

"Where?" He asks, confused because he only knows about the landing strip area.

"To the first drop point. And when have I ever not been able to defend myself. I should be there. What good am I here?"

"I'm sure they didn't mean anything; it was just—(he notices her glare)—ya know, I'm just going to see what I can find on the landing strip." He says as he makes his way to his desk and drops his bag. He plops down in his chair, pops his knuckles, and begins typing quickly on his computer.

"Try to be quick McGee. Chances are these people have already left anyway, but we can't afford to take too long." She encourages him.

He is working furiously on his computer. Typing as fast as possible and watching as graphs and grids flash on his screen and simultaneously on the plasma. Ziva watches the graphs and grids come and go. Text documents flash on the screen periodically as well. Photographs flash on the screen of random landing strips with buildings near them. She continues watching him.

**ABANDONED BUILDING—NORFOLK, VA**

The building seems to be abandoned and appears to be an old mechanic shop with an upper level apartment. Some of the windows have been busted out. The graffiti decorated walls seem to mesh well with the grimy neighborhood. The sidewalk has weeds growing through the cracks of the broken cement. It's obvious the building has been vandalized many times. The surrounding buildings appear to be vacant and in about the shape.

Gibbs and Tony slowly approach the building, guns drawn, eyes focused on the task ahead. They cautiously move to the first door they see. Their bodies are overly sensitive. They are tuned to their surrounding so they can hear the slightest noise, see the smallest of shadows, and smell anything that may signal danger. They are as focused as ever before as they stop at the door. They signal between each other. Gibbs signals for Tony to pull the door open. They prepare themselves. Tony pulls the door and Gibbs quickly enters and raises his gun to his sight level. Tony enters behind him. They quickly move to cover while scanning the room for any danger that may be lurking. They hastily clear the lower room. They move to the narrow staircase against the far wall. They slowly and cautiously ascend the stairs. They stop at the top of the stairs. Tony stands by the door opening, sweat is popping on his brow. A loud "clang" is heard from something either being dropped or falling on the other side of the wall. Tony and Gibbs both rush through the door.

**NCIS HEADQUATERS**

Ziva, sitting at her desk, anxiously tosses a small bean bag up in the air and catches it. McGee knows she wants him to hurry. He is trying to, but there are a lot of locations around D.C. alone that could fit the description he was given. He has to research each one before he can move on. It's not like he can just look at a photo or a map. "Squish…squish" he hears as Ziva catches the bean bag and then repeatedly tosses it up in the air only to catch it and stare at him. He is nervous. He types as fast as his hands will allow him, and finally his computer dings loudly and a map fills the screen on the plasma. A red grid covers the photo and a green line out lines a landing strip.

"I got it!" He almost screams as he stands. He moves to the plasma and is met by an eager Ziva.

"Where?" She asks, not really understanding the grid.

"It's still partly under construction. It's probably twenty minutes from D.C., kind of on the outskirts, but there is a landing strip probably a dirt one but it has to be it. There's a small apartment complex that's being built right next to it." He waits for her reaction, but she has no response for him. She puckers her lips as she contemplates their next actions.

"So should I call Gibbs?" McGee asks.

"No, we will go and check this one out." She says blandly as she still stares at the screen.

McGee doesn't know what to do.

"Uh, Ziva I don't think that's such a good idea. I think we should call Gibbs." He tells her.

"Fine you stay here and call Gibbs. I will go and check out the lead. Like we are supposed to do." She says as she gathers her gear. "I guess Tony is right. You are still a newbie." She heads for the elevator.

He takes in what she said then quickly gathers his gear and dashes to the elevator, but the doors close before he reaches it. He runs down the stairs as fast as he can. He exits the stairwell and rushes to the elevator door. He straightens himself and calms his breathing. The doors open to reveal Ziva.

"Was that really necessary?" He asks frustrated.

"Apparently it was. Look how fast you ran." She smiles sweetly at him and then passes him heading for the door.

"Gibb's isn't going to like this." He calls after her.

They head to the apartment complex.

**ABANDONED BUILDING—NORFOLK, VA**

Tony and Gibbs have their guns aimed out in front of them as they scan the room. It's dark. The only light comes from their flashlights as they quickly shine them around the room. They split. Gibbs goes right and Tony to the left of the room. They are very quiet as they proceed to clear the rest of the apartment.

Tony enters the small bathroom. Nothing is there except an extremely nasty bathroom with a smell. Tony holds his breath the best he can as turns and leaves the bathroom. He then enters the small kitchen, once again he finds no one and no indication of any real activity in quite a while.

Gibbs enters the bedroom. A mattress lies on the floor. A tattered pillow on it. A horrible smell fills his nostrils. One that he is all too familiar with. Decomposition. He hears a slight intake of breath coming from behind a curtain on the far side of the room. He slowly walks over, being as quiet as humanly possible. He reaches over and quickly slides the curtain to one side. His movement is quick and his eyes search the closet along with his gun. There is no one. He knows he heard someone. He shines his light on the floor. There are several grenades just spilt on the floor. He bends down to examine them more closely. He is looking down when he hears something to his right. The sound is something sloshing. He turns his gun, light and body quickly to the right. There stands a little boy no more than five with his hands behind his back. He is covered in dirt, underweight and his clothes are ragged. He is obviously homeless. He is barefoot, and terrified. His feet are now wet from the sludge that is now leaking from the large bag he had been standing on in the corner. The smell is now unbearable. The little boy is frightened but he doesn't move. Gibbs holsters his weapon and lowers his light out of the boy's eyes. He has to cover his face with the sleeve of his jacket to keep down the urge to vomit. The little boy doesn't seem to be affected as badly.

"Come on out. I'm not gonna hurt you." He tells him.

The little boy shakes his head no. He reaches for him slowly. He little boy pulls out the gun that he had been holding behind his back. The boy is scared and doesn't know what to do. He points the gun at Gibbs. Gibbs immediately backs his hand away. Tony enters the room and shines his flashlight on them. Tony raises his weapon halfway. He doesn't want to hurt this kid.

"Let's all just stay calm." Gibbs says to the boy.

"The rest of the place is clear boss." He reports.

The boy's blue eyes are sensitive to the light from Tony's flashlight. He doesn't say anything as he holds the gun up. He just squints his eyes as he looks along the gun at Gibbs.

"We're not here to hurt you. We're here to help. Okay. Now, what's your name?" Gibbs asks him as he slowly inches closer.

"M-M-Matty." The boy stutters.

"Okay, Matty. You hungry? I know I am. What about you Tony."

"Would love a good pizza boss." Tony plays along.

"Do you like pizza?" Gibbs asks him. The little boy slowly shakes his head yes. "Ah, it's too bad then." The boy is confused. "I mean if you shoot then there'd be no way we could go get any pizza." Gibbs tries to get even closer but the boy raises the gun again. The boy is contemplating what Gibbs has said. He is still squinting even though the lights aren't pointed at his eyes.

"Tony can we get a little more light over here?" Gibbs asks. Tony gets his hint and points his flashlight in the boy's eyes. Gibbs immediately grabs the gun out of the boy's fragile fingers. The boy is shocked. Tony lowers his light. The smell is horrible. Gibbs urges the little boy to come out once more with a wave of his hand. The boy tentatively steps out of the closet leaving moist foot print on the hardwood floor behind him.

"Boss, is that what I think it is?" Tony asks.

"Yeah, call Ducky. Start baggin' and taggin'. " Gibbs says as he reaches down and picks the little boy up. "Now, what to do with you." He says looking the little boy in the eyes. The boy doesn't say anything. He just reaches around Gibbs' neck and holds on for dear life.

**CAR ON THE WAY TO APARTMENT COMPLEX**

Ziva is driving. She speeds and swerves in and out between cars, far too many times for McGee's taste. He holds on tightly to the handle above his head.

"I still think we should have at least called them or something." McGee says.

"McGee we are fully capable of following up on a lead." She tells him.

"I know, but-"

Her phone rings. She silences him with a wave of her finger. She answers her cell.

"David." She answers calm and professional. A moment passes while she listens.

"Yes… of course not… I am working. That is what I am doing. It is what you sent me here to do." A moment passes and then she hangs up the phone.

"Who was that?" McGee asks.

"My father." She responds as she makes a U-turn.

"W-w-what are you doing?"

"He is on his way to NCIS so we are going back."

"What about the—"

"It will have to wait."

"But what if he knows you know about the apartment complex and it's just a diversion to get us to go back to NCIS and give them time to abandon the place?" McGee thinks aloud.

"You have been watching too many movies, McGee." Ziva says. However, as they are driving she contemplates what he said. Finally, she makes another U-turn and heads back the other direction. McGee looks at her.

"We will have to be quick." She tells him as she speeds up.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS—LATER **

Tony, Gibbs, and the small boy exit the elevator. They are met by a very anxious Abbey.

"Aww, you guys. He's so cute." She says indirectly looking over the dirty and now stinky little boy.

"He a kid Abs, not a dog." Gibbs says.

"I know that." She says, but is still looking at him like he's a new pet. "I'm Abbey." She says to him. The little boy just turns his head away from her.

"Abs, really?" Gibbs chastises her.

"Oh, alright. The E.M.T.'s are waiting down stairs. Where's Ducky?"

"Probably on his way back by now, hopefully, anyway." Tony says, a bit disgusted. He pulls his shirt up to his nose and sniffs. The stench of decomposition has thoroughly permeated the material. They make their way to their desks.

"Tony, take him to the down stairs." He directs. Tony walks over and attempts to take the boy who looks at Gibbs. "It'll be okay." He reassures him before the boy finally goes to Tony. They leave in search of the E.M.T.'s.

"I can't imagine what he's been through." Abbey says.

"Yeah. (he grabs a bag from under his desk) I'll be back. The evidence is in lock-up." He tells her before heading off for a quick shower. He showers quickly, but thoroughly effectively removing the foul stench. He enters the elevator and makes his way back up to the bull pen. He looks less professional than usual with his jeans and black polo, but still presentable enough.

The doors open and as he steps out he sees them walking up the stairs being led by Vance's assistant. Eli David, Director of Mossad, following closely behind him is Samuel Ali. He watches them as he walks over to his usual work area. Tony still hasn't return, and now he notices that no one else is there either. _Where the hell is everybody. He thinks._

** APARTMENT COMPLEX**

Ziva and McGee slowly approach the apartment complex.

"Well if there's anybody in there they are gonna know we're comin'" McGee says as he looks at their surroundings. All of the trees have been cleared for the construction of the air strip and apartment complex. They pass a NO TRESPASSING sign hanging on a pole. "Yeah, right." McGee says as he reads it when they pass.

"Relax, McGee." Ziva tells him.

"Easy for you to say. I'm dead either way, especially when Gibbs finds out." He mumbles under his breath.

Ziva's phone rings. Gibbs' picture fills the screen. McGee notices.

"Oh, great." He says.

"Hello." She answers calmly, ignoring McGee's apparent anxiety attack. "We just stepped out for lunch." She lies. "Where?...uhm, at the hotel at the airport. McGee says their foods delicious." She half lies again. He buys it. Moments pass. "Always." She hangs up.

"Did you have to drag me into it?" He asks exasperated.

"What was I supposed to say?" She pleads.

"Not that." He responds.

She pulls the car to a stop next to the building.

"Maybe we shouldn't park so close. The last apartment you went into blew up." He states.

"McGee if the building blows up we will not have much use for the car." She responds. He shrugs. Point taken.

From the exterior the building looked complete. However, inside was a completely different matter. Many of the walls had yet to be completed so only the frames were built. This made it much quicker and easier to clear the rooms, but would be troublesome if they were to encounter someone because they would be left with little to no cover.

They clear the first two floors and hastily make their way to the third and final floor.

As they ascend the stairs they both have a bad feeling flow over them. Their senses heighten as does the hair on the back of their necks. And their movements slow and become more precise. Ziva is the first to reach the top of the stairs. She makes her way through the maze of erected two by fours and three by sixes, followed closely by McGee who is keeping an eye behind them. This floor is mostly open, and only has what appears to be one completed room.

They come upon two dead bodies near the finished room. McGee and Ziva stop to check the men. Both men have gun shot wounds to the head and both have the same small tattoo on their necks. They move on. They enter the room. Here they find four more men spread out on the floor dead. Each man has a gun shot wound to the head and the same tattoo as the others. Ziva recognizes some of the men from the photos her contact had sent her.

"Executed." McGee says.

"Silenced." Ziva corrects.

Ziva moves to clear the bedroom of the apartment. Ziva moves to the bathroom. A man is on the floor lying in a small pool of blood. His hands are bound behind his back, and his feet are tied together. He has no gunshot wound to the head. Ziva feels for a pulse. She finds one.

"McGee!" She calls. McGee rushes back to her (having left to clear the rest of the floor.) "He's alive, help me turn him over." They turn the man onto his back and that is when they see the wounds to his face and torso. He has been severely beaten and cuts and shallow stab wounds cover much of his torso. His face is unrecognizable. Ziva examines his wounds on his chest.

"There are only a couple bad ones, call an ambulance, but he should be fine." She assures McGee. He makes the call. She reaches for the chain around his neck and gives it a tug revealing a set of dog tags. She reads them.

"Who is it?" McGee asks.

"Colonel Weisz." She says.

McGee finishes his call and then calls Ducky out to retrieve the bodies. Ziva applies pressure to the Colonel's wounds to slow the bleeding.

"So much for being quick." McGee says as he begins processing.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS- LATER**

Gibbs and Tony both sit at their desks working. Gibbs is noticeable agitated. He is on the phone. He is continually looking back and forth between Tony and the director's office upstairs. They've all been up there way too long. _What the hell's going on? He thinks. _He's still waiting on the line. He slams the phone down.

"Still no answer?" Tony asks.

Gibbs shuts him up with a look. Tony's computer dings. E-MAIL. He opens his e-mail. Sender: McGee.

"Boss, I got a e-mail from McGee." He tells him as he clicks the e-mail. Gibbs wakls around to Tony's desk. He looks over Tony's shoulder. Pictures of the dead bodies from the apartment complex fill the screen. Tony scrolls through them. Gibbs is pissed. He pulls out his cell and once again calls Ziva's cell. No answer.

"Boss, these are the same people from the photos Ziva got of those people in the cell with our suspect." Tony tells him. Gibbs nods in agreement. He runs his hands over his face in frustration.

"Get him on the phone." Gibbs tells him. "And print off those damn pictures." He tells him as he heads to the stairs. Gibbs moves to the base of the stairs. His phone rings.

"Where the hell are you?" He yells into his phone. "You were supposed to stay here!" He waits as she yells back at him. He holds the phone away from his ear. "I don't care. Get up here now!"

Meanwhile, Tony is still at his desk. He's looking back toward Gibbs who is yelling at Ziva. His phone rings. He answers.

"Where the yell are you?" He asks McGee. "Really?... How is he?... Look, Gibbs is going ballistic… yeah, well Ziva's got nothin' on him… well, I know 'cause… Look, just hurry back 'cause Gibbs is pissed" He starts to put the phone back on the receiver, but then pulls it back to his ear. "Probie, bring a pizza."

Gibbs hangs up his phone. He runs up the stairs two at a time. He crosses to the director's office. He barges in.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS—DOWN STAIRS**

McGee and Ziva are rushing through the front doors of the building.

"I told you we should have waited and called them." McGee complains.

"We almost made it back before he found out." She defends herself.

"Oh, yeah, and how would we have explained all the evidence we just brought in or Colonel—"

"I don't know alright." She cuts him off.

"Well, I'm the one that Gibbs is gonna blame." McGee whines.

"I am sure he will know that you didn't make me do anything." She assures him.

Ziva pushes the button for the elevator. They wait.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS—DIRECTOR'S OFFICE**

Director Vance stands near his desk while Director Eli David and Samuel Ali sit at the large table. All three have drinks in their hands as if it were merely a social call. Gibbs stands, flustered, just barely inside the door.

"Agent Gibbs, I see you still haven't mastered the art of knocking." Vance says.

"I do what I can." Gibbs throws back at him.

Director David stands and walks over to him. It is obvious he is disgusted by the site of him. Samuel stands, ready to pounce at the first indication of trouble.

"Agent Gibbs, what do we owe the pleasure?" He says politely as he extends his hand.

"I'm sure what ever it is it'll wait." Vance interjects. Gibbs makes no move to leave. "Gibbs outside. Now." He says. He then moves to the door and waits. Gibbs steps outside. Vance closes the door behind them.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS—OUTSIDE OF VANCE'S OFFICE**

Gibbs turns around and is face to face with a very frustrated Vance.

"What the hell is your problem?" Vance rages.

"He is behind this, Leon. All of it. They both are." Gibbs tells him.

"Do you have any definitive evidence?"

"Not yet. Let me talk to him. I'll get him to admit it." Gibbs assures him.

"You can't just accuse the Director of Mossad of a crime. Now, I want to find who's behind all of this too, but—"

"Just give me a few minutes with them and I'll get it out them… Do you think it's just a coincidence that he shows up after everything that's happened." He argues.

Vance chews his trademark toothpick as he considers his options. He reaches up and removes it from his mouth.

"You got five minutes." He says smoothly.

Gibbs barges back into the room. Director David and Samuel are talking next to the table.

"Sit down." Gibbs tells them sternly.

"Agent Gibbs I am not used to being spoken to in this manner." Director David says as he remains standing.

Gibbs walks up to him. Samuel steps in between Gibbs and Director David.

"It's okay." He says as he places his hand on Samuel's shoulder. Samuel steps aside.

"What is it exactly that you think I have done?"

"I know you sent those people after Ziva."

"I don't know what you are talking about. Has something happened to Ziva?" He says innocently.

"No, no, Ziva's fine." Gibbs says smoothly.

"Good. Then I suppose we have nothing to discuss." 

"I'd like to know what you're doing here."

"I am here to bring my daughter home. It is time, don't you agree?" David says.

"I think she's happy right where she is." Gibbs states clearly.

"She will return with me. She has a mission to complete. She will not refuse me." David states again.

"I think you and I both know that she already has."

"Agent Gibbs, you obviously don't know my daughter." David tells him.

"I think I know her much better than you do. I know that she was supposed to kill me and she didn't. I know that you're lower than scum for the way you brought her up. I know that your son was a traitor and a bastard—" He's cut off by Director David punching him in the face. Gibbs stumbles backwards and grabs his face.

"Now we're getting somewhere." Gibbs mumbles to himself as he straightens himself and moves back to where Director David is standing.

"I know about you having her apartment bugged. Did ya like what you heard?" He antagonizes him.

"What I do with my daughter is none of your business."

"It is my business." Gibbs says sternly as he grabs David's collar.

"Release my collar Agent Gibbs." Director David says calmly, but with a purpose.

"I know that you sent those bastards to take her out. Now, I don't know exactly what kind of father would do that, but I don't care. If you ever come near her again, I'll kill you. (he releases David's collar and pats it flat) Understand?" He asks with a smile.

"Do you understand that I can have you killed like that? (he snaps his fingers) And no one will touch me. How do you think those men at the airport died? Hmm? And if you want to talk about being a father. It was you who let your daughter be taken by another man. You should be happy. I found him and dealt with your problem. You left your child to die and—"

Gibbs pulls a gun and points in directly in Director David's face. Ziva and Director Vance walk in at that exact moment.

"Jethro, don't." She pleads.

He looks at her and then back at Director David. He keeps his gun steady on him.

"Yes, listen to her Jethro." David says as he reiterates his name.

"Put down your weapon Gibbs. We got it, you got it." Vance encourages him.

"You have nothing." Director David tells them.

"We have you admitting to murder." Vance says.

"Yes, but I have diplomatic immunity. You can do nothing."

Tony enters.

"I showed the pictures to Anton and he gave us an I.D. on the man who shot his friend… Samuel." Tony says as he looks at Samuel.

"I bet he doesn't have immunity now does he." Gibbs says. Tony walks over and cuffs him.

"Director?" Samuel says to Director David. Director David raises his hand and silences him. Samuel calms down and allows Tony to walk him away.

Ziva walks over to Gibbs. She puts her hand on Gibbs' forearm.

"It's not worth it." She whispers in his ear.

"It is to me. He tried to kill you and Calleigh." He tells her while still looking at Director David. Ziva whispers in his ear again. He lowers his weapon.

"Ziva, Director Vance and I have been discussing your return to Mossad." David tells her.

"She doesn't want to return." Gibbs informs him.

"It is not your decision, nor is it hers. It is between NCIS and Mossad." He states bluntly.

"No, father, it is not. I do not want to return to Mossad. I have been working on becoming—" She attempts to stand her ground.

"You will return, Director Vance and I have already arranged the transfer back to Mossad." He tells her harshly.

"Eli, she's a good agent, so if she wants to stay. She can." Director Vance interjects.

Director David steps toward Ziva who instinctively steps back. He gets in her personal space. He speaks to her in a low voice so the others can't hear.

"You have disobeyed me once Ziva. Don't dishonor me again."

"I do not wish to dishonor you, but I do not want to return to my previous position. I am happy here and I have no intention of leaving." She states firmly. He grabs her by the arm. She doesn't resist.

"You have shamed me for the last time—" David says to her, but before he can finish Gibbs grabs his wrist and twists it, removing his hand from Ziva's arm.

"Back away." Gibbs tells him. David does so and Gibbs releases his wrist.

"You are a disgrace to your family. You are no daughter of mine. And it would be wise of you to never return to Israel." He yells at her as he storms out of the office. Vance rushes after him.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS—OUTSIDE VANCE'S OFFICE**

Vance rushes after Director David.

"Eli." Vance calls after him. Director David stops at the top of the stairs.

"I think you and I both know it would be better if you left this one alone. I'd hate for you to lose your immunity over such a small matter." Vance tells him. "Do we have an understanding?" Vance asks him.

Director David looks at him for a moment before continuing his journey out of the building.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS—VANCE'S OFFICE—SAME TIME**

Ziva stands behind Gibbs, stunned at what her father just said to her. She is angry at herself for allowing his words to hurt her so badly. She hates him for the recent events, but still cares for him because he is her father. She also loves her country and now she knows she can never safely return. Gibbs steps closer to her. He takes her hand.

"You okay?" He asks.

"I am fine." She quickly responds untruthfully. "It's for the best I suppose." She adds before turning and quickly leaving the room, leaving a speechless Gibbs.

Vance re-enters his office.

"Why don't you and your team take the next couple of days off. You deserve it." Vance says honestly.

"Well, thanks Leon."

"Your welcome. (Gibbs starts walking to the door) And Gibbs. You really weren't going to shoot him, were you?"

Gibbs stops and considers what he's asking.

"He nearly killed my family. What would you've done?" Gibbs replies, not expecting an answer.

"I wouldn't have been stopped." Vance says candidly.

**NCIS HEADQUARTERS—BULL PEN**

Everyone is quietly finishing up paperwork. Gibbs is on his phone. McGee is typing an e-mail.

"The Director said everyone should take the next couple of days off so—"

"Alright! Mini vacation." Tony exclaims.

"So everyone can head out whenever you finish what you're doing." Gibbs finishes.

Both McGee and Tony seem to be excited about the impromptu time off, but Ziva is unresponsive to the news. She hasn't spoken to Gibbs since Vance's office, and he is getting more worried.

One by one they hand him their completed forms. First Tony and then McGee, but Ziva lingers back with hers still at her desk. He knows she completed hers before the others because he saw her sign it at the bottom, but she still hasn't given it to him yet. She is deep in thought and he doesn't want to force her to talk to him.

Finally, she stands and brings him her report. She passes the paper to him without saying anything. She gives him a small smile and quietly turns and goes back to her desk where she begins collecting her belongings. Gibbs places her form into the folder with the others and securely locks it in his desk drawer to be filed upon his return. He shuts off his computer and lamp and walks to her desk.

"You want me to carry some of that?" He asks while trying to take her back pack from her.

"I can carry it." She says numbly.

"Just let me." He insists.

"I said I have it." She tells him sternly. He throws his hands up in defeat. He wasn't trying to start a fight. He was trying to be nice and still he started a fight.

They go to the elevator and wait for it to open. Awkward silent moments pass. She doesn't want to talk and he doesn't want to make her mad by trying to get her to talk so neither of them speaks. The elevator is taking longer than usual and she finally lets out a big sigh and rushes off down the stairs. Less than a minute later the doors to the elevator open. Gibbs steps inside and heads down to autopsy before heading home. He needs advice which means Ducky is the man he needs.

**NCIS—AUTOPSY**

All of the tables in autopsy have a corpse filled body on them. The recent case having left more than it's share of people dead. Ducky is only one man and each victim must be attended to. Ducky is sitting at his desk, having just completed one man's examination, and is documenting the results.

Gibbs enters.

"Ah, Jethro, I thought you'd already gone home for the evening."

"Just on my way out Duck."

"So what brings you to my humble abode?" Ducky questions him as he continues writing.

"It's Ziva." He says as he sits on the edge of Ducky's desk.

"Yes, I heard that she and McGee took it upon themselves to go and find my friends here."

"It's not that… She's acting distant… she won't talk to me."

"When did this develop?"

Gibbs recounts what happened between them and Director David.

"Well, perhaps she's is just hurt by what her father said to her. I'm sure she will be fine. Just give her time."

"I hope you're right Duck. I don't know how long I can stand not having her to talk to." He says as he stands to leave.

"Maybe you should do something to let her know that you're there for her then. Hmm." Ducky advises him. Gibbs smiles back at him.

"Maybe."

Gibbs leaves.

**THE HOSPITAL**

Calleigh sits on the bed with her leg slightly elevated. She is waiting impatiently. Constantly glancing between the clock on the wall and the door. She sighs over and over again. The ticking of the clock is now her only companion. Finally, a knock at the door and then it opens. There stands a tired but cheerful McGee. She is excited to see him. She smiles at him.

"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me." She jests.

"I'm sorry. Work ran late." He tells her as he kisses her on the head.

"I have a feeling, I'm going to be hearing that a lot." She groans. He leans down and kisses her on the mouth. He pulls back.

"So, did you miss me?" He grins.

"With all the cute doctors running around here. No way." She's jokes, but then pull him back down for a deeper kiss. He sits down next to her.

"You look tired."

"I'm fine." He reassures her. "Calleigh, I need to tell you something… It's about Colonel Weisz…"

"W-what about him?"

"We found him. He was at this apartment building where we found a cell that had been taken out."

"Is he okay? Where is he?" She rushes.

"He was hurt bad, Cal. When Ziva and I found him he had already lost a lot of blood. Ziva held pressure on his wounds until the paramedics came but… it wasn't enough. He didn't make it."

"He's dead?" She asks, knowing the answer. McGee nods his affirmation. She feels upset and can feel the tear burning for a release and yet she doesn't want to cry. She wants to hate him for what she now knows that he did to her. However, at the same time she feels guilty for feeling this way. So finally the tears begin to fall. She cries for him and for herself for feeling the way she does. She feels a type of relief wash over her and she can't explain why.

McGee comforts her as she cries.

**GIBBS' HOUSE—LATER**

Gibbs enters his home and gently closes the door behind him. For the most part the house is still a mess even though both he and Ziva had attempted to straighten up what they could. The contractors don't come for another three days to fix the damage the explosion left behind. So far all they had done was take measurements and promise to return.

Gibbs searches for Ziva. He finds her in their bed, in his shirt, on the pillow she'd claimed as her own. He knows she is sleeping deeply because she didn't notice his entrance. He admires her as she sleeps. She is so beautiful, even when she's mad, he can't help but love her. She is everything he could ever hope to have again. She isn't just pretty she's the whole package, and he knows it. He has known it for a long time. He quietly makes his way to his dresser. He strips down to his boxers and then pulls out the bottom drawer of the dresser and retrieves the small box he's had hidden there for the last two months. He feels the velvet of the box as he has a hundred times before. He opens it and there sits the simple ring that holds the answer to all his hopes for the future. He knows she is what he wants for the rest of his life. It's different than with the others. He feels like he did the first time he did this. His stomach is turning, his hands are shaking, he feels like every move he makes is too loud. He takes the ring out of the box and climbs into the bed next to her. She instinctively curls up against him and rests her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest. He waits for her to get comfortable again and for her breathing to once again indicate a deep sleep.

He gently lifts her finger and slides the ring onto it. It is a little loose but not too bad. It's not like they had gotten her finger measured. He had just gone by what she'd said once a while back about her ring size. She doesn't even register the ring. She is so asleep. Gibbs doesn't wake her. Instead, he falls asleep waiting for her to notice.

The next morning he wakes before her. His nerves won't let him sleep any longer. He goes down stairs and makes coffee.

Meanwhile, Ziva wakes and makes her way to the bathroom, eyes still closed, she does her business and then brushes her teeth. She turns the cold water on and fills the sink. She moves routinely. She cups her hands and washes her face with the water. Finally, she opens her eyes as she feels the foreign material on her finger.

"Gibbs!" She screams.

Gibbs hears her downstairs. He can't tell if her scream is from fear or because she found the ring so he runs upstairs and into their room to find her standing in front of the connecting bathroom door. He stops in front of her.

"Is this a—" She stops. "If this is because of me being upset over my father then I don't want it."

"It's not, but I don't understand why you're more upset over what your father said than you were about him trying to kill you."

"He wanted to kill me because he cared. Don't you get it?"

"Apparently not." He tells her. She runs her hand through her tousled hair and begins to turn around. He stops her.

"Ziva. Would you stop? I don't want to fight with you. I want to marry you!" He blurts it out unceremoniously. Not how he intended at all. He does succeed in making her stop and become speechless at the same time.

She turns to him. "Are you sure?" She asks sincerely even though if his answer were no it would crush her to her very soul.

"More than anything." He says as she turns to face him. He moves his face closer to hers. "Will you marry me?" He asks her seriously and confidently.

"Of course I'll marry you." She gushes like a school girl. She kisses him deeply. He returns her kiss. They stand there kisses and caressing one another until Gibbs finally picks her up and she wraps her legs around him as he carries her to the bed. They make love with more intimacy and passion than ever before. Afterwards, they are both exhausted. They fall asleep wrapped in the sheet.

Hours pass. The door bell rings. Gibbs slips out of bed to go answer it. He dresses quickly and smoothes down his hair. He makes his way to the door, and is greeted by Calleigh who is in a wheel chair with her leg elevated and McGee who stands behind her.

Her eyes are a little puffy but not too noticeable.

"Hi ya stranger." She greets him. He's shocked to see her at his door as he was planning on going and seeing her today at the hospital. He feels guilty for having to leave her alone so much while she was there.

He smiles at her greeting and welcomes them in. He runs up the stairs to alert Ziva to their arrival. He then returns downstairs where McGee and Calleigh are setting the table with the food they have brought.

"Boss, where do you keep your plates?" McGee asks.

Gibbs leads him to the cabinet where the plates are kept. He passes them to McGee one by one.

"Boss, I gotta tell ya. I think I'm in love with her." McGee tells him sincerely as he watches her maneuvering around in her chair.

Ziva enters the kitchen just in time to see Gibbs head slap McGee. Calleigh looks at them after hearing the slap.

"Welcome home." Ziva greets Calleigh. She gives her a hug and Calleigh notices her ring.

"Really?" She exclaims. Ziva grins and looks at McGee and Gibbs. Gibbs is smiling and McGee is shocked.

"Then what did I get a head slap for?" McGee asks, confused.

"Just a reminder that if you screw up, I'll kill you." He tells him under his breath. They finish setting the table and begin their meal.

** THE END**

22


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